Before It Ends
by Singular Embassy
Summary: Today is the day Lieber finally confesses to the love of his life...but when Fayt arrives to the scene and the Vendeen board the Diplo, everything he planned had fallen to pieces.  What else could go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

Before It Ends

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN "Star Ocean: Till the End of Time" or any of its characters. All rights belong to the game developer Tri-Ace and the publisher Square ENIX.**

**Note: I began loving the Star Ocean series when I played SO3, and I've always had a thing for guns when no one else uses them. So Maria was my first choice. The following takes place after you have already beaten the game, so if you have yet to complete it then I would suggest that you stop here.**

_

* * *

-Starts off as Lieber is about to confess his feelings to Maria.-_

It was pretty quiet inside of the Diplo's bridge. The fact that Quark was disbanding was a lot to take in. Taking your last look at the cold metal you used to call home was depressing, yet satisfying. The galaxy doesn't really need Quark anymore, and that thought alone made you feel accomplished, like you've done your job…. and a damn good one too. Your team just saved the entire universe! What's not to be proud of?

As everyone made their final good-byes and shared a few more memories with each other, it made the atmosphere within the bridge pretty lively. A weight has fallen off of the crew's shoulders, and it felt good. Finally not having to worry so much and just look forward to taking it easy from now on. Everyone was feeling comfortable…..except for one frantic individual on the verge of drowning in his own perspiration.

'_Alright, this is my last chance! If I don't do this now, she'll be out of my life forever!'_

The air around Lieber was growing heavy and dense, as if his anxiety formed a bubble around him, slowly filling his lungs and suffocating himself. His arms grew stiff along his torso with his hands tightly gripped onto the cushion of his seat, clawing the underside in an attempt to calm himself down. Just thinking about her now was enough to make him sweat until he began trembling. But the thought of his confession not getting through to her was tearing him in two…..no, she can't reject him now.

'_I've gone too far and I've done so much. She has to feel something towards me.'_

He's been watching Maria since the day he joined Quark. He doesn't care too much for the Federation and how they run things, hell he could care less. And now, after all these years of working with her, this was his last shot. All those years he wasted his time with this organization could be thrown out the window if he lets her go now…..wait, what about….oh yeah he left, nothing to be concerned of now, because he's far away from here. That bastard, Fat Leinjesus, went his own way and was out of the picture for good.

'_That punk isn't here to steal her from me now!'_

What the hell did she see in that over-emotional kid anyways! Just because he was a research subject like the captain, doesn't mean he gets any bonus points before meeting her.

'_I've been working for her feelings YEARS before that kid ever knew how to SPELL Quark!'_

The blue-haired obstacle is gone, so now Lieber is the only candidate left right? That thought made him feel good, real good. Good enough to have that talk with the captain.

'_Alright! I can do this!'_

"Uh, C-Captain!" Lieber managed to squeeze out of his throat as he stood up to face in her direction. "Th-th-there's something that I want to talk to you about!"

"Hm?" Maria now noticing the man walking towards her.

Yeah, he's in the zone now, gaining more and more confidence with each step. He's never had an adrenaline rush like this, where pride kicks tense's ass out of your system. Hell yeah, he's actually gonna go through with it now.

"Oh, Lieber it's you!" Maria exclaimed as her shoulders slightly drop. "Okay, what is it? Is there something that you need to tell me?"

"C-C-Cap…no Maria, I want to tell you that…"

"Oh before you say anything, I just wanted to tell you something too."

"Wh-what? Really!" His hopes now shining through his eyes.

"Yes. Although brief, these past few years leading Quark has been a once in a lifetime experience for me. I don't think I would have ever been as successful as your captain if I did not have a crew as outstanding as the Quark organization. And I know that you and everyone else put as much…no, more work into this organization than I could ever achieve. So for all of your hard work, I would like to say…..thank you. I thank each and every one of you, for being the most loyal and dedicated crew I could have ever asked for."

Everyone in the bridge salutes with a smile as they look up at their former captain……everyone except Lieber, as he starred at her with an expression of shocked glued onto his face (you know, with the mouth slightly open).

'……_..That wasn't the 'something' I thought she was gonna say. And it wasn't directed to me personally! I'm here about to pour my personal feelings out to her and she makes a speech to the entire crew! Does that mean that she doesn't have ANY feelings for me? No, I'm just assuming things. She still doesn't know why I'm standing in front of her yet.'_

Maria turns back towards Lieber, "So what did you want to tell me?"

"U-uh, well…you see……..uh, I…"

"….And Lieber, why are you sweating so much? And you look so nervous, Lieber are you okay?"

"N-n-no!....I-I mean yes! I'm fine! I'm j-j-just…"

'_Crap! Where did all my confidence go!' _Lieber screamed in his head as more and more of that tension began to creep up to from his lower spine to his neck, like a spider slowly inching it's way to his skull, one leg at a time. _'Dammit! I'm breaking down right in front of her! Say something you hopeless wreck!'_

"C-C-C-M-M-Maria! I-I-I-I!"

Maria slowly takes a small step back, rising up her guard a bit. Her face riddled with confusion mixed with fear.

'_No! No! No! Dammit! She's freaking out! I can't do this! After all I've been through, I still can't do this!'_

* * *

Steeg and Marietta just stare at the awkward moment silently, taking glances at each other to make sure they're not alone imagining this scene.

"Man, he looks like he's about to cry. And she looks like she's about to make a run for it." Steeg chuckled to Marietta. "You think we should step in and help sort things out? Cuz I don't think this is going to end too nicely."

Marietta was still starring at the scene, as if she didn't hear Steeg. "I'd rather not interfere."

"Oh come on!" Steeg stressed as rubs his forehead. "The least you could say is, 'I hope Maria rejects him so I can have Lieber for myself.'"

Marietta glares at Steeg as he laughs silently to himself.

"Okay, maybe not exactly like that, but you get what I'm saying right? Seriously, the whole crew already knows you've had feelings for him. We're all just wondering…"

"Wonderin about what?" said the stranger as he approached Steeg from behind him.

"Dammit Cliff, why do you have to barge your way into conversations like this." Steeg shot through his teeth.

Cliff just crosses his arms, "Well from personal experience, I never like what was goin on when you start laughin. So I tuned your chatter out." He slowly looks at Marietta and smiles a little, "Then I happen to see her face light up."

Steeg couldn't help but smirk now, "Ever hear that old saying, 'curiosity killed the cat?'"

Cliff smashes his fist against his palm, "Curiosity stopped tryin when I beat the crap out of it on Elicoor."

They both couldn't help but laugh at each other's stubbornness while Marietta was starring at the floor the whole time, silently to herself.

Finally calming down, "So what's up with her?" Cliff asked. "Not like Marietta to act soooo…..not Marietta."

"You've always been soooo good with words. But yeah, Marietta is going through a lot of things in her head right now."

Cliff just raises an eyebrow as he looks down at the poor girl. Then he looks back up at the soap opera going on by the captain's seat. "Oh, you mean about Lieber?"

"How'd you figure that out?" Steeg asked, already knowing the answer. He just wanted to let Marietta know that he wasn't lying about the part where everyone but Lieber already knew about her feelings.

"Well," Cliff scratches the back of his head a little, "No offence Marietta, but it was pretty obvious that you like the guy."

Marietta just looks up at Cliff with a blank expression. Then she glances at Steeg's 'I told you so' look. "Is that so?" Marietta asked while still eyeing Steeg.

"Well, why haven't you said anything yet? You've been with Quark for as long as Lieber has, and I don't think I've ever seen you two talk." Cliff asked.

"We've talked before." Marietta answered as she looked back at Cliff.

"Oh yea? Well my definition of talk consists of more than just a 'hi' and 'bye'"

Marietta stays silent.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Marietta shoots back.

"Go do somethin about it!"

"About what?"

"About that nonsense goin on up there!" Cliff exclaims as he points to Lieber and the Captain.

"I'm not going to intrude. If he would rather be with Maria, then it's fine with me."

Cliff puts his hands back on his belt in an attempt to ease the tense atmosphere a little. "Look Marietta, waiting and sitting around doesn't get you places often. You gotta know when to jump in and do what you gotta do. Trust me, I would know. I had to deal with Fayt's 'don't mess with the planet's development' crap. He would always tell me to don't do this and don't touch that and don't talk to them. It was really hard to keep myself from getting involved at times, but I put up with it and then more and more people were dying. Eventually I told him to shut the hell up and deal with it! Cuz lending a hand to a war torn planet was better than standing in front of a dying innocent as their life slowly vanished inches away from my feet! "

Marietta's gaze returns to Lieber. She wasn't really in the mood for a lecture, but she continues to listen….. because Cliff was right. She's been watching Lieber for longer than she had hoped and she still hasn't really gotten anywhere yet. She knows the selfless thing to do is let Lieber fall for the girl he wants to fall for, and seeing Lieber happy should be enough to make her happy…..right?

"I don't know what it is you see in that wreck," Cliff exclaimed as he crossed his arms, "But if you're just gonna give up now and let him slip away from your fingers like this, then you don't deserve him."

A sense of shock riddled beneath her chest as Marietta jumped a little in her seat. Her eyes widened and she gasped a little as she thought that maybe she was being a bit too selfless. She really didn't want to lose him like this after all these years.

"Uh, Cliff?" Steeg asked while still shocked from what he just heard, "D-don't you think you're being a little, you know, cruel?"

"Seeing people hesitate for stupid selfless reasons like this is aggravating. And then they expect everything to turn out okay by doing nothing? Man that really pisses me off." Cliff forced through his temper.

Marietta simply squeezed the folds of her pants as she was still starring at Lieber.

"Marietta, please don't take it too hard." Steeg explained. "Cliff is just being Cliff. But I can't say I don't agree with him. This may be your last chance to tell Lieber…"

"I don't think that's going to be necessary." Marietta interrupted. "It seems things are going to be settled one way or another…now that he's here." Marietta explained as she circled her chair around away from the drama. _Thank God he's here. Maybe now I'll have a chance._

"He? What do you mean he….." Steeg asks, but after he takes a quick glance back at the scene, he just lets out a big sigh. "Oh him."

* * *

'_God dammit! Lieber you useless coward! Pull yourself together and just say those three words. That's it! It's not that hard!'_

Lieber, still stiff armed, now squeezing his upper thigh in an attempt to keep his cool…but it wasn't working. Maria, getting more and more cautious, begins to wrap her hand around her weapon holstered behind her.

"M-M-Maria!" Lieber quirked. His heartbeat was racing beyond safety limits, and his pulse could be seen in his temples.

'Click!' The safety to the captain's weapon was shut off.

Lieber's arms reach out, as if expecting a hug as a reward for what he was about to say, "I-I-I-I LO…!" Lieber tried to let out, but the sound of the bridge's doors interrupted him.

The figure barges in too quickly to be recognized instantly.

"Hey Maria! I found that picture we were looking for." The figure squeezed through his panting while waving a photograph too fast to register what the image was. "Turns out, it WAS in your room. Looks like you owe me that…!"

There was a long awkward silence in the room. Everyone was either too shocked to speak or they were trying to come up with something to say. Nothing but eyes were moving now, just zipping from person to person, in hopes that someone was going to hurry the hell up and say something…..anything. It was too painful to be in this room.

Finally breaking the peace, Maria blushed and stuttered "F-Fayt!"

**

* * *

And so ends the first chapter of what has been playing through my head for the past year. I'll know whether or not to continue if enough people say so. I just wanted to give out a taste and get some feedback before I really get into this story so I won't be doing all this work for nothing. If you hadn't noticed, I hate Lieber and I started at this particular point to I could make him miserable. It pissed me off how I did absolutely nothing wrong and he was all up on me with his 'back off Maria' attitude during my first time exploring the Diplo. So if you despise him as much as me, you might like what I've got in store next chapter**


	2. Chapter 2

Before It Ends

Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN "Star Ocean: Till the End of Time" or any of its characters. All rights belong to the game developer Tri-Ace and the publisher Square ENIX.**

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* * *

Author's Note: My main goal here is to keep all of the characters……..in character. I am trying my very best not to accidentally shed some of my own opinions and personality into the people within the Star Ocean universe just because I don't like how they do certain things. Except Lieber. I'm purposefully altering him slightly to add more suspense and emotion to the story. Why? Cuz I still hate him. And what better way to make him look bad than to.....well you'll find out.  
**

* * *

The bridge was silent, with nothing but the cold humming of machines filling the emptiness of the room. Not a single soul in the room dared to make a sound, as if their lives depended on it. Making eye contact was difficult…very difficult. But Lieber didn't know what else to do.

"F-Fayt!" Maria stuttered.

Lieber's face was still and his mind was blank. This wasn't just bad luck. This was a curse.

…_.no…._

Why? Why was this happening? Was it never meant to be? Were all of his dreams and hard work predestined for failure? Was he doomed to never achieve the happiness that he wanted? Questions upon questions were piling up like snow, but the same answer kept melting it all away.

_No….._

The word kept surfacing with Lieber's every heartbeat. And every heartbeat made his chest heavier, making it harder and harder to stand up straight. But his legs wouldn't move. They were rock solid and keeping his feelings and his sanity prisoner to the scene unfolding in front of him. Torturing his emotions.

_No! No! No! No!_

"You! Wh-what the f-FUCK are you doing here!" Lieber swore at the blue-haired bastard. He was too furious to give a damn about moral standards. This asshole's existence was ruining Lieber's one shot to a generation's worth of happiness—no—his everything. Maria is his everything and now this one interruption is destroying his everything.

"L-Lieber! I…" Fayt tried to squeeze out, but was quickly interrupted.

"Shut-up!" Lieber screamed while pointing at Fayt. "You shouldn't even be here!" his fear tuning to anger like a gunshot.

Fayt couldn't help but stare with shock and confusion. He just walked in and took a minute to access the situation, and now this suddenly outraged individual is yelling at him. What the heck is going through Lieber's head? "L-look Lieber," said Fayt. "I don't…"

"YOU!" Lieber interrupted again, "You should already be halfway to the shithole you call home! Oh wait, that's right your home is GONE! Mr. Lab Rat Hero couldn't save his own damn planet. So what now! You gonna use that to gain people's sympathy? Your biggest mistake turns into your best pick-up line. You can use it as your greatest asset to get a woman to cry for you then you get in their pa-"

Maria's hand came across Lieber's face hard enough for the sound to echo. The silence was finally broken after what felt like an eternity. "That 'shithole' happens to be my late home as well." Said Maria. "And I'd greatly appreciate it if you called it Earth."

Lieber continued standing there, completely motionless and silent. It felt as if every one of his muscles have frozen over, but that can't be right. He was actually really hot. Especially the side of his face where Maria's hand met his cheek. _This is the first time she's ever touched me. But why did our first touch have to be like this?_

Maria's eyes were furious, but her face was cool. Her hand still held up after contact, but her shoulders were loose and relaxed. Her footing spread apart and on her guard, but her back was sleek and straight. Everything about her right now was a living contradiction, but how does she make it look so beautiful? "And I believe you owe Fayt a BIG apology." Said Maria still glaring at Lieber intensely.

_Apologize to him?_ Lieber thought as he slowly looked back at Fayt. _I'd rather die_

Fayt kept starring at Lieber. He knew Lieber's jealously towards him well enough to already know that there wasn't going to be any attempts at apologizing. At least, not the correct way.

"Apologize to him! Now!" Maria's volume increasing.

Lieber didn't listen. He just screamed as he charged towards Fayt with a fist rolled back. As the space closed between them, Lieber threw all of his bottled frustration at his happiness' final obstacle.

In one quick motion, Fayt stepped to his left, parried Lieber's thrown fist with his fingertip to the side, and chopped at Lieber's back with his free hand knocking the wind out of his lungs before he crashed to the hard metallic floor. Fayt didn't mean to hurt Lieber; it was just an instinct Fayt developed during his travels on Elicoor. Before Fayt could apologize, Lieber cursed.

Some time passed as Lieber gasped for air and slowly pushed himself back up to his feet. His nose now bleeding from the face plant that was staining his shirt. Lieber simply wiped his lips with his sleeve to keep the blood out of his mouth. The throbbing pain in his nose and lungs didn't seem to hinder his hate much as he started running again for another shot at Fayt.

_He doesn't deserve her._

Lieber's footsteps start to echo.

_This is MY happily ever after!_

His footsteps getting louder.

_This is MY dream!_

His footsteps getting faster.

_Maria is the women I LO-_

Every thought going through Lieber's head vanished with the sound of a loud crash against the metallic floor. At the same time, Lieber's vision went black. As he regained his composure, Lieber realized that the back of his head was the source of the thud as it pounded him with pain. His view consisted nothing but a blonde blur and the ceiling.

"I'm pretty sure that isn't how you say you're sorry to someone." Cliff said while his hand was still on Lieber's throat. "But if that's how it's done, then I'd best start apologizin' to you too."

Lieber couldn't help but cough profusely for an answer. Probably because Cliff's hold on his neck was tighter than Cliff himself realized. Guess Klasians were never very good at restraining themselves to 'normal' standards. That, or Cliff was really pissed off.

"Cliff, let him go." Said Fayt while walking towards Lieber and Cliff. "Hurting Lieber isn't going to make things better."

_He sure as hell deserves it. _Reluctantly, Cliff let Lieber go. Then he sighed as he stood up and crossed his arms. _He's as soft as he always was, if not softer. Guess that's fate. No pun intended_. Cliff couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he began to leave the bridge. Then he halted at the doorway with his back still facing the room and everyone in it. "I think I'll go grab one last lunch in the conference room before I call it quits." Said Cliff. Then he walked through the door, leaving it open.

It didn't take long for the rest of the crew to get the message. They quickly left the room as well, leaving Fayt, Maria, and Lieber alone with nothing but the noise of the Diplo's computers to fill the silence.

Moments passed, and then Fayt continued to walk towards Lieber. "Here," said Fayt as he reached a helping hand out to Lieber, who was still on the floor. "Let me help you get to the medical bay…"

Lieber quickly swatted away Fayt's hand while avoiding eye contact. "Don't touch me." He snapped.

Something must have clicked in Maria's head as she started power-walking towards Lieber. "I don't know what the hell has gotten into your head Lieber," said Maria as she stopped beside Fayt. "But you're acting like a little child—no—worse than a child. Fayt is just trying to 'right' all of the 'wrongs,' then you just keep stepping all over him. Maybe you should try not being so damn selfish and think about the feelings of others."

"Funny hearing a lecture about other people's feelings from YOU, captain." Spat Lieber sarcastically.

For the first time in ages, Maria was caught off guard and appeared shocked and defenseless. Considering her personality, she should never be off her game like this…..but here she was—completely vulnerable to Lieber's outburst.

_What am I doing? Did I really just snap at her! _Lieber immediately regretted what he just said to Maria, but he's too far in the hole now. It was already too late after what he just said. He might as well keep going to get it off his chest and stay in control of his sanity…..because letting her have her way was turning him into a mindless animal. A man's got to have control of an argument every once in a while…..right?

"All you gave a damn about was getting the job done without any detours. You could care LESS what other people may have felt…..then he walked into your life." said Lieber finally making eye contact with Fayt. Why couldn't Lieber notice this sooner? All of the fucking pieces were coming together, Fayt being here now filled that last hole in the picture. "Ever since your adventures with him on Elicoor, you've changed….." Lieber looks back at Maria, his eyes beginning to water.

Maria just looked straight back at Lieber, frozen. The look in her eyes gave Lieber the hint that he was on the right track. Lieber swallowed and said, "You're missions began taking longer than usual. You became more concern of the safety of others close to you….."

Lieber… please." said Maria. She slowly started starring at the floor over her shoulder, caressing one of her elbows with her finger tips.

"The strangers who you used to believe would only slow you down…were leant your helping hand." Lieber continued. "Even the way you talked to people became more…..caring. As the captain, you were always formal and straight forward. Now…..I can't ever hear that serious tone in your voice anymore."

Maria didn't move. She just stood there without saying anything.

"You have feelings for him…..don't you?" Lieber calmly asked.

No answer. But the silence was an obvious hint.

"DON'T YOU!" Lieber demanded, now pointing a finger a Fayt—tears now running down Lieber's face. He already knew what her answer was. He was just too damn upset to accept it.

(Line Break)

_**

* * *

-2 hours earlier-**_

The one-bedroom cabin was accompanied by multiple beeping noises from the starboard computer in the room's corner.

_Delete_

The room was freshly cleaned and spotless. Everything except for the bed itself was well kept and tidy. The bed, ruining the cleanliness of the cabin, was missing its sheets.

_Delete_

Actually, all of the plants and flowers were missing too.

_Delete_

Even the dresser was empty, and the closet next to it was vacant as well.

_Delete_

Whoa, how long have those boxes and suitcases been there?

_Delete Delete Delete_

"There. All finished."

Maria finally relaxed back into her chair after what seemed like hours arching over the keyboard. She took a deep breath then laid her hands on her legs as she starred at the computer's monitor, like she was forgetting something.

"It's about time." Fayt complained. "Your sheet-less mattress was starting to make my butt itch." Which was a lie. Fayt just wanted to open the conversation with some humor.....crap, Maria never had a good sense of humor.

"Erasing all of Quark's data history takes a bit more than a few 'ctrl-alt-delete' inputs." said Maria, still looking at the screen. "And you didn't have to wait here all this time for me to finish. I'm sure there are plenty of other things you can do."

"Nah, not really." Fayt replied as he dropped his back onto the mattress. "Everyone else is probably doing the same thing right now. It'll be boring no matter where I go on this ship."

Maria couldn't help but smile, but made sure her head was turned away so Fayt couldn't see it. "Then why here?"

"The Diplo? Because outer space isn't very comfortable." Said Fayt sarcastically.

"No, I meant why wait in this room?"

"……..No particular reason."

"Really now?" Said Maria with a tone of accomplishment.

That tone in her voice sounded really cute. Did she do that on purpose? _No way, that isn't how the Maria I know would act._ Having his doubts anyways, Fayt turned his head towards Maria. From the angle on the bed, he had a pretty good view of her sitting in that little chair. _Is it me or does she look prettier than usual when she gets confident?_

Fayt never did gaze at Maria much. He was always a little paranoid that her serious side would catch him starring…..then he would have left Elicoor breathing through straws. And even when you did try to catch glances, the damn trench coat would cover most of her. But now that they knew each other better, he felt more comfortable taking glances at her body. And was it him, or did Maria's clothing style not show enough skin? _Sure, a lot of her outfit is probably some kind of reinforced steel armor for protection against all of life's dangers, but did the only exposed part of her have to be only her hands? She might as well wear a mask too. _No, dammit. Unless you had some kind of sick hand fetish, you would eye-goggle a walking carpet. Where's the lust in that?

After her smug reply, Maria spun around in her chair until she was facing Fayt, showing off her smile.

That threw Fayt off guard. His unpreparedness showed in his face, which was slowly growing red. "S-s-so what do you plan to d-do now?"

Maria slowly bent over, still in her chair. Giving him a nice view of what could be seen through her armor.....if you looked hard enough. "I plan to finish packing up my room next."

"I-I meant, what do you plan to do now that Quark has been disbanded?" said Fayt. Damn, she's not playing fair.

"Hmmmm." Said Maria as she folded her arms behind her head and leaned back into her chair playfully starring at the ceiling.

Now that she was leaning back while facing in Fayt's direction, Maria's trench coat only covered her arms. Every other part of her was in perfect view. The freakin' coat was always in the way and made it hard to distinguish her exact figure....but that doesn't seem to be the case at the moment.

Not passing up the golden opportunity, Fayt's eyes started from the bottom and made their way up. Her sleek legs growing in width as his gaze made its way up to her toned and well rounded thighs. The wide hips seemed wider when compared to her slim waistline. The curves on Maria looked like they would choke the sand in an hour-glass. Fayt's sights kept working its way up like watching the numbers light up in a slow elevator eventually setting his sights on her.....what is she, a B? No, that's got to be her armor playing tricks on him. Someone's body this outrageous can't be a kill joy when it comes to the top half of the hour-glass. Underneath, she's got to be at least a C-.

After sitting in her chair for so long, Maria stretched out her arms and legs for a few seconds to keep herself from going numb; giving Fayt an even better view.

_I wonder if she even realizes the show she's performing right here in front of me.....wait, is she really that innocent? Or is she doing this on purpose?  
_

Maria let out a long moan as she finished stretching in her chair.

_She's so doing this on purpose._

After enjoying Fayt's impatience a little more, Maria finally said "I guess I'm really looking forward to finding a quiet place to live the rest of my life in. A nice and tranquil planet with few problems, and even fewer Federation entanglements."

_That killed the mood._ "Uh-huh. Sounds like you got some big plans ahead of you." Said Fayt.

Maria continued, ignoring Fayt's comment, "Find a nice home and settle down……find a nice guy….. Have a few kids and raise a healthy family."

The room grew quiet again, this time without the beeping.

"Grow old as I watch my kids grow-up faster and start adventures of their own…..I guess what I'm trying to say is that….I just want to live a normal life."

Fayt couldn't help but look back at Maria now, his hands still cushioning his head against the mattress. Maria slowly met his gaze from her chair. For what was really a couple feet apart, they felt like they were only mere inches away from each other.

"That sounds…..really nice." said Fayt, his eyes never leaving her's. "I hope you find the right guy to make that fantasy come true." With that, Fayt got up and started walking out the door. _Guess she has someone else in mind. I'd better get out of here before I break down in front of her.  
_

"Okay, I guess I kind of lied to you." said Maria, causing Fayt to stop. "The part where I would find a guy on my dream planet."

Fayt just stood there, waiting for her to continue.

"Well…..I guess I can say it." Said Maria as she stood up and faced Fayt. Hearing her get up, Fayt turned around to look at her eyes again.

"I've had two prospects I was aiming for….and I've already chosen one." Said Maria, still cool even when she's talking about such a personal topic.

Fayt's heartbeat was loud enough to be heard by people other than himself. If she keeps dragging this conversation out, she's going to be packing his corpse too.

"The one I didn't choose is on this ship."

The world around Fayt fell. Here he was, standing in front of a girl he fell for—speaking her heart out to him---rejected him in a fraction of a second. Fayt wished he could vanish and get pulled away into space right now, eventually burning up into the nearest sun. Because rejection, after all he's been through, hurt like hell. Losing loved ones was tough, but this adds the finishing touch to his misery. This room, this moment, this woman…..they were all killing him. He had to get out of here.

…_..good-bye Maria._

Before Fayt even thought about turning around, Maria grabbed his shirt playfully and pulled him close, nearly breaking a button off. Their faces were now mere inches apart.

"But the one I did choose is standing…..right here in front of me."

(Line Break)

* * *

Maria simply gripped her arm tighter as she slightly turned her head away from Lieber. Fayt checked his shirt, making sure the button was still there.

Lieber's arm was still outstretched towards Fayt, but it began shaking more and more. At the same time, his breathing became heavier again, like it was before his late confession.

Confusion? Rage? Lust? Envy? Hatred? Lieber wasn't sure what emotion he was supposed to be feeling right now. He just had the urge to yell everything he wanted to say out loud, even though it didn't make the pain of his sentimentality hurt any less…..Wait that was it—pain. A pain that you couldn't physically see, but it hurt as much as being stabbed, if not more. An intangible pain that could only be healed by time, but Lieber didn't have any time. All of this had to be settled now.

"What's this guy mean to you compared to me!" yelled Lieber. "What's this bastard got that I don't! Blue hair! Cuz I can fix that! I never really liked myself as a blonde anyway!"

Not following what Lieber was saying, Maria looked up with a confused expression. But it didn't take long for her to catch the foreshadowing. Confusion quickly transformed into fear.

"Maria! I would do anything for you! I…..I love you!" said Lieber, now panting and drenched in sweat.

Maria saw it coming. She already started to return to her guilty look and rub her elbow again as she starred at the floor.

"M-Maria? Don't you love me? Do you even like me? Don't I mean ANYTHING to you?" asked Lieber.

Maria didn't say anything.

"…..Maria?" Lieber asked again but with no avail.

"Lieber," said Fayt while approaching him. "Maria just needs some time to think—"

Fayt was cut off with Lieber's charge, this time a successful one. Lieber pushed Fayt all the way to the nearest wall and slammed Fayt's back to it with his forearm pinned against Fayt's chest "This is all your fault!" screamed Lieber. "If you hadn't been involved, everything would have been just fine! But you just had to exist and you had to ruin everything!"

Fayt didn't look frightened at all. He didn't even flinch. He just looked straight at Lieber, his eyes full of concern and sympathy. That just pissed Lieber off even more. _You asshole! Still trying to look tough!_

Lieber grabbed Fayt by his collar and slammed him against the metal barrier. Then he did it again. And again. And again.

"Lieber stop it!" yelled Maria as she started running towards the two men.

"I hate you so damn much! I….." Lieber was yelling, but stopped. He couldn't help but notice a little photograph slowly floating from Fayt's pocket to Lieber's feet. Maria, noticing that Lieber was no longer thrashing Fayt against the wall, caused her to slow down to a halt as well.

After Lieber finished gazing at the photograph between his feet, he looked back up with tears streaming down his face again. _…..That's just not fair…._

**

* * *

Wow, I hope everyone's happy. As I'm typing this author's note, it is currently 1:23AM, which is very late for me. But don't feel bad, it's probably my own damn fault for only getting into these writhing moods this late at night. Anyways…..I put a lot of emotion (and cursing...sorry) into this chapter. I lost count how many times I had to put myself into Lieber's shoes to get a good feel of how his emotions should be twisting together. And since I hate him so much, some of his reactions may not be as realistic as I would want them to be. But I was moved by all 4 of chapter 1's reviews and I felt that I really had to get this one posted for you guys. Thank you so much, and if I don't fail this semester, I plan to start writing the 3****rd**** chapter very soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

Before It Ends

Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN "Star Ocean: Till the End of Time" or any of its characters. All rights belong to the game developer Tri-Ace and the publisher Square ENIX.**

**Sorry for the delay. Lately my life's spare time has been consumed by hours of Halo Reach and Devil May Cry. Enough said.**

* * *

"Have you found them yet?"

"No sir. There haven't been any reports on Quark's whereabouts since the Executioners incident. Given the circumstances, they most likely have-"

"Your assumptions are impractical, imbecile! The only words I should hear from you are "Yes" or "No." If I wanted an opinion from you, I'll have you thrown out of my ship so you can tell me your thoughts from the vacuum of space. Do we understand each other, corporal?"

"…..yes sir."

"Very good. That goes for the rest of you as well. Now find me those damn Quarks! We've wasted enough time evading the Executioners. I want every star system, every planet, and every piece of data concerning Quark thoroughly searched! Failure will see your way to the other side of the bridge's window! If I have to throw out every last one of you, then so be it. Do not underestimate how impatient I can truly be! Those damn kids will regret the day they riddled with me! I will-"

"S-sir! We've picked up a ship ID similar to the Diplo!"

"Where is it!"

"I-it appears to be drifting in conventional space around Elicoor 2's orbit."

"Elicoor? Dammit, how could I have been so naïve? Set a warp to that damn planet."

"B-but sir! Elicoor 2 is only an approximate 28 minute travel distance in conventional space. A warp could overshoot us! Or worse…..it could shoot us into the planet itself! Your madness for vengeance will get us all ki-"

The panicked corporal was quickly thrown out of the bridge leaving a shattered hole in the window. The corporal died from his head smashing against the reinforced glass before the vacuum of space could kill him. The glass was as hard as steel and yet the corporal was thrown through it as if the window was made of foil.

Everyone in the room panicked and hung on to anything tangible that would keep them from being swallowed from the ravenous reaches of space. The vengeful figure was calmly standing in the middle of the room, unaffected by the strong pulls of the breach, as if it was just a window that was opened to keep the room from becoming too drafty.

As more and more crew members were helplessly thrown out, the safety mechanized doors shut from outside of the hole in the window, causing the pull to finally stop.

The dark figure still standing with his arms behind his back turned towards the rest of the crew. "So? Anyone else have anything on their minds?"

The room remained silent. Even though the question could be answered with a "Yes" or a "No," the crew members were too frightened to mutter anything…..or breathe for that matter.

"Very good. Now, how about getting this ship to gravitic warp space?"

_Crunch munch munch_

The chomping of the crisp lettuce in Cliff's sandwich sounded like it could be heard for miles…probably because it's the only thing making noise in the mess hall. When the room is this full of the Diplo's crew, it's never quiet. It's usually always full of smiling faces and pleasant conversations. But now…..it's just weird how such a cheerful room can turn quiet. Especially on Quark's last day.

_Man, what's with all these awkward silences? _Cliff thought as he took another bite into his sandwich. It was roast beef, but he never really liked roast beef. He just wanted to make turkey more available because he figured it was a crew favorite seeing that the fridge was low on turkey…..but everyone was eating freakin' salads.

_Should've taken all of the damn turkey for myself since these self-conscious bastards would rather watch their figures. _Thought Cliff irritatingly. He sighed and took glances at all of the gloomy faces in the room. The sight seemed even more pitiful when Cliff noticed that some of the people haven't even touched their meals yet.

_Don't tell me the drama in the bridge is what's causing all of this…_

After examining the sad atmosphere a little more, Cliff finally tries to start a conversation to try and lift the mood a little. "So…..uh…" Cliff started without thinking, but he was just too anxious to let this last lunch break go silent.

Everyone stopped eating (or staring at their food) and looked up at Cliff as if they were waiting for someone to finally say something.

_Crap. Why do I feel so nervous about being on the spot all of a sudden? _Cliff whimpered in his head, immediately regretting saying something. Being put on the spot by chance was a lot different than being put on the spot by choice…and a lot more difficult. "Well, you see…uhh…"

Cliff's riding on chance now, hoping that something interesting to talk about would just magically pop in his head. He could feel every set of eyes staring at him, causing a bead of sweat that slowly ran down the side of his face. Flustered, his eyes quickly zipped from person to person…..till he looked back at Lancar. Wow, maybe there really was such thing as magic.

"H-Hey! Lancar! Buddy!" Cliff shot causing Lancar to jump a little in his seat. "Wh-wh…uh..what do ya plan to do after retiring from Quark!"

Lancar tried to force a smile, but he was just too surprised to make the smile look realistic. Now that the spotlight shinned on him, it seemed as though the tension and anxiety did too…..along with the sweat.

_Dammit Cliff. _"Uh..ye-yeah! I…uh…wanted to go back home to my wife and daughter….and stuff. You know, and retire and take it easy and…Steeg! How bout you man? You're still at a working age; you should have something interesting to tell us!" panicked Lancar.

The spotlight was like hot potato, except you were burnt mentally rather than physically.

_Bastards_ Steeg thought as he clenched his teeth. "I-I'm going to live on a planet that was torn by the Executioner's and give them a helping hand. And maybe open my own tavern to help make a living." Explained Steeg. "But that's enough about me, how about you, Mitch?

The spotlight potato kept passing from person to person, till the room nearly ran out of people. The mess hall wasn't quite the joyous room it used to be, but this was a start. Everyone was telling their future stories as each person's narrative grew longer every turn, as if they were looking forward to sharing their retirement plans. Smiling faces were slowly growing in numbers, along with laughter and jokes about how 'gay' a member's plans were. The mess hall wasn't what it used to be; it was better than it ever has been. Why couldn't more days be like this?

"Cliff! You bastard!" Joked Lancar. "We've practically been around the entire room, and we haven't heard what you're gonna do yet."

Everyone else agreed and yelled with laughter in unison. Cliff's laughter was cut short as he stopped and thought about it. "Well ya see…" Cliff started as the room grew quiet with anticipation. _Dammit. You guys were planning this._ Cliff blushed a little and continued. "That uh…that all depends on what…..on what Mirage says-"

"What about what Mirage says?" A voice interrupted Cliff as footsteps echoed around the room.

"Oh crap." Panicked Cliff.

"Cliff, don't cut the crap. I want to hear the rest of this." Replied Mirage with her usual monotone voice.

Everyone else in the room just made faces. Some were ashamed for some reason, and others were really looking forward to what might happen next.

"Well….D-d-d-did you see the uh….the….you know…the letter and the……thing I left in your room?" Cliff asked with a raspy voice. He was trembling so much it seemed as though he had a fuse running from his head that was on the verge of blowing his mind up from tension.

Mirage just stood there motionless and stared a Cliff for a moment. Then she just couldn't help but smile at the nervous wreck sitting in front of her. _He sure makes anxiety look cute._

"Cliff, I know you're not the type that's good at this sort of thing, but I'm pretty sure that this isn't how you should do it." Lectured Mirage as she waved an envelope in Cliff's face.

Cliff then gave a panicked expression as his eyes grew wide. "Y-You didn't even open it yet!" Cliff then looked at the ground, almost as if he were about to cry. "Does that mean it's a no…!" Cliff tried to finish but was interrupted by Mirage when she cupped his hand in hers.

"I didn't open it because I already know what it says." Mirage softly explained as she gently smiled. "It was already a yes when I saw this gleaming in my room." Smirked Mirage as she held up the back of her hand to Cliff.

Cliff's eye's shined as bright as the ring on her finger. The gold and silver collage looks so much better on her hand than the box it was wrapped in.

When the rest of the crew noticed the ring on Mirage's hand, there were simultaneous gasps throughout the room. The shocked expressions glued to everyone's faces finally turned to cheering and applause. Though it was only a room full of people clapping, it felt like a stadium.

"About damn time." Smiled Steeg.

"You guys are how old? And this is just happening now?" Lancar smirked.

"The great womanizing Cliff is finally settling down?" laughed another.

Everyone else shared their thoughts (and jokes) while the two fiancés were staring at each other happily.

"Alright Cliff," chuckled Lancar, "You're gonna have to tell us how this story goes."

"What? You mean how I did this? N-Now!" Stuttered Cliff.

"Yea Cliff, I'm a little curious as well." Nodded Mirage.

"Ah geez…..Okay, but you can't tell him I told you this."

"Him?" Everyone asked, almost in unison.

**

* * *

-2 hours earlier-**

"Hurry up and GET OUT!" Maria screamed while shooting at Fayt and Cliff's feet making them dance all the way to the other end of the hall.

When they were out of her vision, the duo found a place to sit down against the wall to catch their breaths. Minutes passed and Cliff finally asked between breaths, "Man! She was pissed! The hell did you do in there!"

"Me! Things were going great till you just BARGED in and surprised the both of us." Fayt barked back.

"Oh common! I was in a hurry tryin to find you. You weren't in your room so I had to look all over the freakin' ship for-"

"What could be so important that you couldn't wait for me to meet up with you at lunch?"

"I….I took your advice." Cliff answered while blushing a little.

"You….You what?"

"I…I did it."

"……You finally proposed to her!"

"Well….Kinda."

"How do you "Kinda" do this?" Fayt quoted while bending his fingertips.

"Well I uh…Left a letter."

Fayt stared blankly at the Klausian with shock. Then Fayt merely slapped his own forehead with his palm. "Cliff…..That's not how you do it." Muttered Fayt trying to talk through his hand.

"W-Well at least I'm making progress! Unlike SOME blue-haired pe-"

Cliff tried to continue but was cut off when his mouth literally froze over.

"Two things here Cliff, and listen good or I'm deep freezing everything except your ears next," Fayt explained holding up two fingers to the ice-mouthed blonde. "First; you've known Mirage a lot longer than I've known Maria. So not only do you know her better, you've had several more opportunities. Second; I was in the middle of something VERY important with Maria before you came in and interrupted us."

Cliff finally shattered the ice encasing his jaw with a loud snap of his mouth. "Whoa man. Don't tell me you were already at…..THAT phase…" Asked Cliff while squeezing his jaw with his hand, checking for numbness.

Fayt's entire face turned bright red. "N-N-N-No! No it wasn't anything like that!...well not exactly…"

Cliff smiled and laughed out loud. "Whoa whoa man! I am so sorry! You about to get to second phase and then I just come in and blow it for ya! Man I am cold….no pun inten-"

Cliff was interrupted again, this time by Fayt's side kick (no pun intended). "Dammit Cliff! That's not how it happened!"

**-10 minutes ago-**

Maria grabbed his shirt playfully and pulled him close, nearly breaking a button off. Their faces were now mere inches apart.

"But the one I did choose is standing…..right here in front of me."

Her deep blue eyes grew deeper as her face slowly closed the gap between them. It almost felt as if Maria's was looking beyond Fayt's own eyes. From this distance, he could tell that Maria wore make-up, but not very much. She didn't need a lot to look any more beautiful than she already did. Fayt also noticed her soft lips slightly opened as they were nearing his. Without actually realizing it, Fayt was leaning in as well. Before he knew it, both of their eyes were closed as their lips—

_SLAM!_ The door quickly barged open as Cliff yelled while covered in sweat, "FAYT! FAYT! I DID IT! I FINALLY—"

Maria's face turned red faster than the door slammed open. Instinctively she shoved Fayt away as hard as she could, knocking him into Cliff. Flustered, she pulled out her weapon and pointed it at the two boys. "And don't ever come in here again!"

"Wh-what?" Fayt asked from the floor. He was so confused at how quickly the mood in the room changed all of a sudden.

Maria's face was still red. "G-GET OUT!"

"But!"

"Hurry up and GET OUT!"

**-10 minutes later-**

"Oh." Cliff said before pausing for a moment. "…..Oops."

Fayt sighed loudly. _Oops? That's it?_ "Look Cliff, don't worry about it. I'll just go and apologize to her later."

"Wait hold on, this is more my fault than it is yours. Maybe you should let me—"

Cliff cut himself off when he noticed Fayt drawing another symbol. This time the markings read 'Explosion.'

"Guh, you know what! I'm just gonna go do my own thing…..elsewhere. See ya in the bridge!" Panicked Cliff as he zipped back up the stairs.

Fayt stopped drawing the symbol and sighed again. After a long pause, he finally turned around and started walking down the hall.

* * *

"Fayt has feelings for Maria?" asked Steeg. "Whoa man. Didn't see that coming." He added sarcastically while taking a drink from his glass.

"Look, no matter how obvious it is, you can't let him know we know, you know?" Cliff exclaimed adding a shrug at the end of his sentence.

"Whatever Cliff," Chuckled Lancar. "but so far, you only told us how things led up to your…..proposal. I was hoping to know where you got the ring. Or what exactly is written in the letter—"

"D-Don't worry about it!" shot Cliff.

"Whoa Cliff I was just asking. No need to get all defensive about it…..but now I REALLY want to know."

"Yeah Cliff, you got pretty jumpy when Lancar brought up the letter." Mirage explained as she raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I don't know what you've got written in here after all."

"Na, Nope! You were right!" Cliff panicked. "It was just a proposal. Opening and reading it would just be a waste—"

"But Cliff, you went through so much to get that to Mirage." Teased Steeg. "It would be an even bigger waste if she never even glanced at your love letter."

Getting in on the fun, the rest of the crew wanted Mirage to open and read the letter too; encouraging her with chanting and other teasing tactics.

"Well Cliff, the majority has spoken." Shrugged Mirage with a smirk.

"No wait! Don't!" Cliff cried while reaching out for the letter, but Mirage was too quick. She was already discarding the envelope to the side. As she took a moment to skim the letter, she cocked up an eyebrow and opened her mouth open a bit.

"Wh-what is this?" asked Mirage sounded shocked. She took the letter in one hand and turned to towards Cliff.

The letter read, "Marry Me? XOXOXOXOXOXXXXOOXOXXXXXXXXXXX Love Cliff" in the most unreadable handwriting the crew has ever seen.

"W-well, it probably would have made a little more sense with the…..bonus material included." Whimpered Cliff.

"B-Bonus material? What bonus material?" demanded Mirage.

Coincidentally, at the same time Mirage finished her sentence, a photograph slipped out from a fold in the letter and landed on the table where everyone could see it. The picture had a shot of Cliff lying topless on his bed, while holding a cherry to his mouth.

With everyone in the room eyeing the photo with horror, Cliff picked the time to say, "Amazing what a shot of alcohol from Elicoor can do to a Klausian." Cliff started laughing at himself, but slowly stopped to realize that no one else found any of this very funny. Especially Mirage, who slowly looked back up at Cliff with an angry expression she rarely uses.

"Y-You're not mad are you?"

Mirage clenched her fists hard enough for her fingers to pop.

_Yea, she's pretty mad._ "Look can't we talk about this....." Cliff paused, trying to think of the right thing to say. "…..honey?"

As Mirage pulled her fist back, Cliff quickly covered his face with his arms crossed and prayed he could leave this room with only one broken forearm.

_BANG! _An explosion came from down the hall and shook the Diplo enough to knock everyone off their feet.

Cliff rubbed his head as he picked himself up off the floor. "What the hell hap—"

_BANG! _Another explosion came from the hall again, this time it was seen. The fiery wave rushed from a newly made hole in the wall. The wave was quickly followed by smoke swallowing the rest of the halls.

Several footsteps could be heard running throughout the halls. The footsteps eventually made their way to the mess hall, where the entire crew was suffocating from the clouds of smoke.

A dark figure calmly made its way towards Cliff, who was kneeling on the floor and coughing hard. The dark figure placed its weapon under Cliff's chin and raised it till Cliff met the figure's gaze. "Ah, I remember you." The dark figure said coldly. It was still too smoky to tell who it was. "You were with the boy that day."

"A disrupter rifle?" Cliff questioned in between coughs. "No way, you guys can't be…..Vendini?"

"In a way, yes. But I didn't come here to waste my time with talk. Now tell me before I lose my patience," The dark figure spoke, "Where is Leingod?"

**

* * *

Heh, three puns. That's a record for me. I usually despise puns, but they're pretty funny when they get on someone else's nerves. And I'm not too happy with ending such a happy chapter with a scary cliff hanger, but I really need to get this story somewhere a bit more interesting. Anyways, it's been a while since I've beaten the game, and I forgot Maria's eye color. I wanna say they're blue but it's hard to tell on youtube because the vid's quality is shit. So please forgive me if I'm wrong. Other than that, I was feeling humorous lately. Although most of the jokes I used were probably lame, I laughed to myself pretty often. And I'm sorry for not writing about the main pair (Maria and Fayt) much in this chapter; I got a little carried away with Cliff's side. He was my comic relief in this game, and I always respect the "funny/gets shit done" guys. Okay, lemme just finish with saying that next chapter, there is a lot more M&F. Big thanks to those who leave reviews. Your friendly words are what motivate me to write.**


	4. Chapter 4

Before It Ends

Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN "Star Ocean: Till the End of Time" or any of its characters. All rights belong to the game developer Tri-Ace and the publisher Square ENIX.**

**Damn you people and your anonymous reviews…I can't ever thank you properly if I can't get an address to SEND my 'thank yous' to.**

**

* * *

****-1 ½ hours ago-**

Maria finally sat back on her bed and relaxed after shooing the embarrassment out of her room…..with some reinforcement.

_What happened to me? I completely lost it._

Maria was quietly thinking to herself as she fiddled with the gun in her lap. She couldn't help but reminisce about her mood swings just a few minutes ago. What the hell was that? Jumping from love ecstasy to embarrassment to…..rage? That's three emotions Maria never thought she would go through, especially all three in thirty seconds.

_I can't let anyone see me like this_

Maria's supposed to have the image of a captain; the strict figure that the crew looks up to. What would they think if they see her break down like this? But she was also a girl with feelings. That's something you can't hide forever no matter how tough you try to look. The hard facts hit Maria like a wall, causing a tear to fall on her lap. She reached up to touch her face only to realize that they were her own. Dammit, why can't these emotions be controlled like a crew?

_I can't let him see me like this_

Why did she have to fall for him? Damn this isn't fair. Maria got so frustrated that it made her angry. Angry at everything. Angry at Quark for making her captain, angry at her duties to be Quark's role model, angry at Fayt for being so kind and caring for her, and angry at herself for having feelings in the first place. If only she was emotionless, then she wouldn't be so twisted with her own feelings. She wouldn't even be sad about her mother sacrificing herself for Maria's safety. Dammit, now she's crying when her thoughts wandered about her own mother. Damn Fayt. This is all his fault. "I wish I never met him!" Maria yelled to herself.

_But I don't want to lose him_

Now Maria felt selfish. All she concerned herself with was her own feelings. What about Fayt's? What about the pain he's gone through? His own father died in his arms, and Fayt just picks himself back up and moves on. Almost like a role model.

_We're not that different_

And just moments ago, they were about to pour their feelings out to each other, and she slams the door on him just because she got a little embarrassed.

_I don't deserve him_

The role model Maria would apologize without hesitating, but the selfish Maria can't bear to see him again. Now she's torn between two Marias and doesn't know who to follow.

_He'll be happier without me_

Now the tears won't stop, and there didn't seem to be an end to them. If she stayed with him, the role model Maria would eventually disappear from constant infatuation. And the selfish Maria would continue to close the door on him. She would have to be nothing but a hollow shell, almost emotionless. But isn't that what she wanted? Or is this the selfish Maria thinking?

_I want to run away from it all_

Running away sounded like a good idea, but what kind of role model is that? Great, role model Maria is in control, and its keeping her from avoiding her troubles. Running away _is_ pretty selfish…but it seems like the best decision right now.

_Dammit, I'm so confused. What do I do-_

Maria's thoughts were cut short by a knock on her door. She quickly looked up and waited motionlessly—she didn't want anyone to know that she was in here.

"Maria?" a voice called from the other side. "It's Fayt. C-can we talk?"

Maria stayed silent. Fayt was the last person she wanted to be seen by right now…..but at the same time, she wanted him to comfort her, to hold her, to whisper in her ears and tell her that everything is okay. Maria really wanted that, but was it actually going to work that way? Was it truly meant to happen? Did she even deserve it? Finally making a decision, she wiped her eyes with her sleeves and replied, "The doors unlocked."

Fayt slides the door open and slowly walks in with a pitiful expression on his face. If Maria didn't know any better, it was as if there was a little raincloud over Fayt's head. The way Fayt looked wasn't making Maria feel any less guilty for throwing him out. Maybe letting him in here was a bad idea.

_Slam! _Fayt closed the door behind him. _Click_ the door beeped shut.

_H-he locked the door? _Maria thought to herself with a slightly shocked expression.

"There, that way we won't be interrupted again." Fayt explained as he turned back towards Maria.

_Wh-what's he doing?_

With a serious face, Fayt began walking to where Maria was sitting.

What's with that look? Before he locked the door, he seemed so down and depressed. Now he has this somber expression all of a sudden. Is he mad? _I wouldn't doubt it, _Maria thought. After what she did, why wouldn't he be?

Fayt's anger could be sensed through his footsteps, which felt like they were walking very slowly, but fast enough to show his temper. Fayt finally stopped a few inches away from where Maria sat on her bed. Still looking down at her with those eyes, he dropped both of his hands on Maria's shoulders.

"Duh….uh." was all Maria could squeeze out after Fayt made contact with her. She was so shocked and confuse at Fayt's sudden approach.

"Maria," said Fayt without any hesitation. He was serious.

_Wh-wh-what is he thinking!_

Maria started to try and put all the pieces together to help her understand what was happening at the moment. Fayt walks in after getting kicked out for something he shouldn't have been blamed for. He locks the door. He gets an angry look on his face. He stands in front of me and lays his hands on my shoulders while I'm still sitting down on my bed………we're alone in my room…..

Maria then realized that Fayt's eyes weren't full of fury, they were filled with…..determination?........oh God…

_N-n-n-no! No! I-I-I'm not ready for this yet!_

Maria quickly responded to Fayt's glare by shutting her eyes tight and tremble in his grasp. She knew she was helpless, but a part of her didn't want to stop him. Why? Dammit, there's not enough time to think.

_P-Please Fayt. I d-don't know if I can go through with th-_

"I'm so sorry." Breathed Fayt while lowering his head and looking at the ground.

"Wh-What?"

"I-I'm not sure what I did wrong. But I couldn't forgive myself if you were _that_ mad at me." Fayt stressed. "If it's because I took things the wrong way, then I'll stop."

…_..Stop what?_

"What I'm trying to say is, that if you-"

Maria hushed him with her finger to his mouth. "_You _shouldn't be the one apologizing here."

"H-huh?"

"_I'm _the one who kicked you out. So shouldn't all this be the other way around?"

"But!"

"You're fighting an uphill battle, Fayt." replied Maria. "The only thing you _should _be doing here is forgiving me for being so…..impulsive." _Damn, bad choice of words. What's he going to think now? Please don't ask me to expla-_

"Impulsive?"

_Dammit_. "Y-yeah. Because I-uh….chased you out of here with my gun! Yeah that's why." _I'd be damned if he bought this._

"Oh yeah. I can understand that." Replied Fayt almost instantly.

"R-really?"

"Are you kidding? You should see how _impulsive _I get around Cliff." Fayt chuckled. "That guy could make a vein in your head pop."

_Tell me about it._ "Y-yeah, he can do that to you sometimes." Said Maria and adding a fake laugh at the end of her sentence…..but it could have beenbetter. "S-so does this mean we're…..you know…"

"No I'm afraid I don't know." Fayt joked. He knew she was talking about the apology, but she put him in mood good enough to want to tease her a little.

"…..that were…okay now?"

Maria was answered with a passionate hug. Fayt closed his eyes as he rested his chin on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her.

Moments like these don't happen often enough. Where the only thing that matters is that special person making this moment for you, and only you. It made Maria feel so warm and loved that it almost made her cry. It would have been the first time she cried about a happy moment in her life. If the world around her would have disappeared right now, she wouldn't have cared much. Just as long as she could enjoy a few more seconds of this.

After enjoying the embrace from his arms and the scent from his hair…..Maria realized that she was still sitting down. And in this position, the only way Fayt could hug her was by kneeling in between her legs. Embarrassment rushed to her face again…..but she made sure she didn't let it get the best of her this time. Maria just patiently waited for Fayt to finish. Good thing he couldn't see her face, because red was not a good color for her.

"Sorry," Fayt finally said. "Didn't mean to get carried away like that."

"N-No! You're fine. It's okay." _I enjoyed it more than you know._

Fayt smiled at her and laughed. Laughed? No, that can't be right. He didn't see me blush like that…..did he? Oh no, what could he be laughing about? Do I really want to know?

"Wh-What's so funny?" Maria asked.

"I never really noticed till now, but isn't all this ironic?"

"Ironic? What do you mean?"

"Well," Fayt started while putting his hands behind his head. "You think that I would hold a deep grudge against the researchers at moon base for using us like lab rats, but I'm actually quite grateful."

"I-I'm afraid I don't fully under-"

"If it weren't for them, I don't think I would have ever met you."

Maria's heart skipped a few beats. That shouldn't have fazed her this bad, but why? _Oh no, I'm blushing again aren't I? Please don't let him notice…_

"You'd think we'd know each other a little too," Fayt continued. "But I didn't get any sense of familiarity when I met you on Elicoor. Gosh, it makes you wonder why moon base didn't have any pictures of us in the lab or something."

_He doesn't know?_ "Well now that you've mentioned it…"

Something literally gleamed in Fayt's eyes. "What! I was just blabbering randomly. Don't tell me there really is one!"

"Y-yeah, but…" Maria was caught off guard again. Today was just not in her favor. "I-uh…I don't know where I put it." She lied. Of course she knew where it was. It's too precious for her to misplace. Lying was just instinct when you're caught off guard.

"Oh it's gotta be in here somewhere." Fayt said while already rummaging through her room. "Definitely here in your room…..somewhere."

He looks pretty occupied. Good, now I can take this opportunity to cool my head from all this. Anymore jumps in my moods today and I could lose consciousness.

"Well while you're doing that, I'm going to go meet up with the others in the bridge. They're probably waiting for me." Lame excuse, I know. But I've been on a lucky streak so far. Why stop now?

"I know you're lying."

"Wh-wh-what?"

"About losing the photograph." Exclaimed Fayt while still searching around the room, and not looking at Maria. "And if I find it, you're going to continue where we left off earlier." Fayt smiled devilishly, but made sure he was turned away so Maria couldn't see it.

"H-how would you know that anyways?" she blushed again, of course. Maria kind of wanted to resume their…..moment as well, but she didn't want Fayt to know that she did. It's too embarrassing.

"Just call it…..a hunch."

Maria's tension quickly melted into disappointment. "You spend too much time with Cliff."

"Aren't there people waiting for you in the bridge?"

Maria didn't answer; she didn't have to. Her giggling was a good enough response as she strolled out the door.

Fayt was still smiling after the door shut. Making Maria laugh was rare, so hearing it could make anyone happy. Still determined to find this mystery photograph, Fayt began his search again; narrowing down the hiding places was easy since most of the room was already packed. _This shouldn't take long. Five minutes is more than enough.  
_

**

* * *

-1 hour later-**

Lieber's grip on Fayt's shoulders eased up a bit, but not enough to let Fayt go. He wasn't planning on smashing Fayt against the wall again, but he needed something to hang on to and keep him from collapsing. His legs were feeling weak and his knees wouldn't stop wobbling in an attempt to find his balance.

It was this damn photo. It crushed his hopes, crushed his chances of ever being with her. He felt so crushed that it wasn't a surprise that his legs would give up on him now. His legs just realized his futility before his head did**. **His head still didn't want to quit, but this photo was reminding him that he should just listen to his legs and crash on the ground, like his hopes did.

Most of the picture was white and gray. The shot took place in a bright white room with grayish blue metallic flooring. The brightness of the area was most likely illuminated by bright spotlights aiming at a clear glass box in the middle of the room. Inside of the glass chamber were two figures, most likely small children, sitting side by side in one of the corners. The two children were wearing white medical gowns and sleeping peacefully. One was resting their head on the other's shoulder, and the other was simply resting on the other's head. The most distinguishing feature, however, was that they both had blue hair.

"You…..you just can't let me win. Can you?" Lieber pouted.

"Listen to me Lieber," Fayt reassured as he held Lieber up. Fayt knew he was about to fall over.

Lieber wanted to throw Fayt's arms off of him and hit Fayt again. The will to hurt him was rising beyond limits, but the surge of hopelessness and defeat was suppressing his strength. His limbs still felt weak. The photograph was the strongest blow Fayt could ever throw at him, completely immobilize Lieber, and didn't even have to touch him.

"It's pointless, Fayt." Maria exclaimed. "Even if you yelled at him, Lieber won't listen to you."

She was right. Lieber wasn't in the mood for a lecture. Especially if it came from the guy whole stole his crush from under his feet.

"Maria, I just want to make things right." Fayt replied while still holding on to Lieber. "This isn't the right way to end things."

_And that's what will always make you a better person than Lieber._

Fayt has already had one bad ending too many. Ameena, Dion, his own dad….ever since then he's always had a change of heart for others. What he once thought was caring too much soon became never caring enough. And he wasn't about to let this chapter end with a bitter conclusion.

"Please Lieber, if I could-"

_BANG!_

The vibration threw the three against the wall. But before they could get back up, another explosion slammed them into the floor.

Fayt and Maria both got up while rubbing their heads shortly after the metallic tremor. Instinctively, Maria yelled out to the bridge for a status report, but then realized that they were the only ones on the bridge.

"Damn, it's been a while since I've done this." Maria cursed as she rushed over to Marietta's terminal.

Fayt looked around and notice Lieber lying on the floor facedown and unconscious. He propped Lieber against a wall and tried shaking him awake, but to no avail. He decided to go see what Maria was doing.

"Hey Maria, Lieber's knocked out cold."

"Better that way."

"But shouldn't we be getting him to the medical bay or something?"

"Not while _they're_ here."

"They?"

Fayt's question was answered when he gazed at the terminal and noticed vendini soldiers running through the halls. This must have been the surveillance camera outside of the mess hall, but it was hard to tell with so much smoke clouding the area.

"Didn't Cliff and the rest of the crew go to the lunch room?" Maria pondered out loud.

"Oh no." Was all Fayt could say as he already started running for the door leading to the Diplo's hallways.

"Fayt stop!" Maria yelled. "Taking on armed vendini soldiers without being armed yourself is beyond stupid. Being a hero now isn't going to make everything better like you usually think it does."

"I'm not being a hero!" Fayt yelled back.

"Then what the hell do you think you're doing!"

"I'm making a decision."

Maria was stunned. She didn't know how to reply to that.

"Before, when I took too long to make a choice, countless people died because I hesitated. I hesitated because I was stubborn. And I was stubborn…." Fayt paused, as if the words had to be dug out from deep inside. "I was stubborn until I knew what it felt like to lose someone close to you."

That tore Maria's heart out. She stood there motionlessly for Fayt to finish.

"So I'm going to learn from my mistakes…and go help the others waiting for me before it's too late. I don't care if I died trying." Fayt spoke from his remorse and his regrets. He was too blind from his faults in the past to think things through.

As Fayt turned around and headed for the door again, a tug on his shirt turned him back towards Maria who quickly caught up with him.

"You're not going alone. And you're not going to die on me." Maria smiled.

**

* * *

Yeah I know; the beginning was pretty damn boring so I don't blame you if you skipped most of it. Sorry, but I really wanted to get into Maria's head for once instead of always keeping the narrative running from the guy's point of view. As a matter of fact, I'm not very proud of this chapter at all. I just needed this to fill a few gaps. So bash this one all you want; you will not hurt my feelings.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

Before It Ends

Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN "Star Ocean: Till the End of Time" or any of its characters. All rights belong to the game developer Tri-Ace and the publisher Square ENIX.**

**Sorry for the wait. On the plus side, here's a fun fact: The way Marietta's day unfolded here is **_**kinda **_**how my recent day started out…..kinda.**

_

* * *

Drip drip drip_

The shower nozzle was off, but the steam in the room was so thick the evaporation dripping from the nozzle wasn't surprising. Marietta had all of the nozzles in the community showers turned to maximum heat temperatures just recently. Of course, she didn't bathe in any of them; she just always wanted to try out her own steam room.

And why should the others complain? It was the Diplo's last day of operation. The entire ship is probably going to be scraped and molded into metallic…..toothpicks or something.

_Not wasting the water before it gets thrown out would be a shame._

Marietta quietly enjoyed her make-shift steam room. Wearing nothing but a towel, she sat on the bench protruding from the wall farthest from the community shower entrance, peacefully pondering to herself.

Marietta took showers quite often, but not always for hygiene reasons. Showers helped her take her mind off things and relax herself a little. When she was stressed from work, she showered. When she began to worry too much, she showered. When she…..thought about Lieber a bit more than she should, she showered.

_Oh gosh, I'm thinking about him again…..I need a shower._

But this steam bathing was _so _much better.

Usually, Marietta would be too faltered about doing this; hogging the showers to herself, steaming the place up, and sitting on the open bench with nothing but her towel. Hell, she can barely stomach being nude. But today was a special day. A day where she realizes her catch was open prey due to the discovery that the other competitor wasn't even competing in the first place. This confidence made her feel like the words _indecisive _and _impossible_ just got their asses kicked out of the dictionary.

"You know what!" Marietta yelled out loud. "I'm going to confront him _right _now and tell him what I should have told him _years _ago." She then slams the bench she's sitting on with her fist and, to her surprise, the bench beneath her crumbles instantly.

The shattered pieces on the floor were a reminder. She had been assigned to on-bridge control with no necessary uses for physical violence for so long that she had forgotten she was a Klausian.

Klausians, having strength several times the standards of humans, may not make the best intergalactic lover with space colony earthlings. A simple hug could make _everything_ go wrong. Marietta rubbed her finders against the green tattoo-like lines on her neck—the only thing that made her looked different from an ordinary human.

_Wh-what am I to him? A monster?_

Bullshit. So what if she's stronger than him? It'll be a relationship where Marietta will be the one doing the heavy lifting and the yard work while Lieber can wash the dishes and fetch the groceries. What's wrong with that? And if he doesn't like it, she can always restrain herself. It's not that hard.

Marietta rubbed her neck again. _But what about this?_

Wearing turtle necks for the rest of her life didn't sound so bad. A small price to pay for a chance to spend the rest of her life with someone she really cares for.

"I….like Lieber…..I _like_, like Lieber…"

She couldn't say the other "L" word, but this was a damn good start. Lieber was going to hear this whether he was ready or not…..no, he _better _be ready. Sure as hell has been long enough.

With that thought, Marietta thrusts herself up so fast her towel nearly peeled off. But that didn't slow her down. What _did _slow her down was the sudden pulsation of the ship, nearly knocking her off her feet.

"Wh-what was-" Marietta tried to finish but was thrown onto the ground by another tremor that smashed her forehead against the floor, causing her to lose consciousness.

Minutes pass and Marietta was woken up by footsteps clattering beyond the entrance. Just waking up from unconsciousness, she tried shaking off the drowsiness-didn't help much; she nearly fell to the ground again.

"Ugh, my head…." Marietta whimpered as she sat back up. Both of her hands were cushioning her forehead, where the pain stung the most. Swaying back and forth from complete black-out, she pulled her hands away and noticed that they weren't her original skin color anymore.

"Is…is this blood?"

It wasn't too much, but your head isn't a good place to be bleeding from. _That explains why it's so difficult __to stand up…..among other things._

Marietta tried shaking her head again. It worked a little this time—shouldn't be too much longer before she regains full composure.

_I've got to find out what's happen-_

"I think I heard a voice coming from here." A voice shouted from outside. It didn't sound too friendly.

_A-__a breach? _Now was a good time to regain her composure.

"Hurry up and get over—huh? What's with all this steam!"

Immediately realizing her advantage, Marietta took cover at the far stall.

"Careful! The floor is slick too."

Marietta began maneuvering between stalls, slipping and sliding under each divider. Quietly heading for the entrance and making sure the steam veil was thick and the voices loud enough before she made her advance.

"Wh-what is this? Is this blood?" A voice noticed.

"See! Take a close look at this. It's still fresh! I knew someone was in here." Another voice pointed out.

"_Was._ That _someone_ could be anywhere now."

"Shut up, both of you! That _someone _could still be in here."

There was a moment of silence. Both sides were completely still and listening for even the slightest decibel of sound. This steam was too thick to rely on vision. You may as well keep your eyes closed to save the trouble.

"…..couldn't have gone far without a towel."

_Are you kidding me!_ Marietta finally realized she wasn't wearing her towel anymore. This was embarrassing beyond measure, but it wasn't the time to freak out about being nude…..well, maybe a little.

"Well we better find our mysterious friend. Chances could be in our favor if it turned out to be that Leingod kid."

"I know that we are to capture him and a few others, but what of the rest of the crew here?"

"We kill them on site, Captain's orders. You don't pay attention very well do you?"

"It proves fairly difficult when the voracious pulls of outer space is frequently consuming your fellow—"

"Have you _two_ idiots forgotten that there could be someone hiding in this very room—LISTENING!"

Funny how that last statement, which sounded like it came from the soldier with the most common sense, would be the biggest mistake to say at the moment. He just exposed their numbers. _There's three here, including that last one who made the outburst._

Escaping the shower room would be pointless. It's obvious that there are more soldiers outside; might as well take these three down so they won't cause problems later.

Marietta was already thinking this through while the group was arguing with one another. By the time the last outburst was finished, she was already behind the nosiest one.

"Look if we can just—"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Marietta sweep-kicked the soldier's feet from under him and smashed his head against the ground with her free arm. Her inhuman strength made it easy to leave a small crater where the soldier's head landed. Marietta, still lying on the ground, kicked her heel into his spine hard enough to launch him to the other side of the room.

Hearing the crash the body made against the wall, the two remaining soldiers panicked and turned towards the noise.

"S-Sergeant?"

No answer. The sergeant was dead before he hit the wall. But the other soldiers didn't know that yet.

"Sergeant!" The voice called again as he began running towards the body.

"No don't run! You're making too much noise! The—"

_Crack!_

The noisy hypocrite fell to the ground with his head on backwards.

"Sir! The sergeant's spine is bent at a right angle! He…..s-sir?"

No answer.

Realizing he was alone, the private began to cry and panic while trying to find the way back out. But the steam made it damn near impossible unless you already knew the layout of the room. He had no idea where he was. He just wanted to get out, now.

The private got so desperate; he began to claw at the walls. Remembering that he still wasn't alone in the room, he quickly pinned his back against it and pointed his rifle towards the steam—frantically waving it around and looking for a target.

"S-s-stay back!" he yelped.

"….."

"I-I know you're there!"

…_..kink_

The private immediately fired in the direction the noise came from. But other than the shot from his rifle, there wasn't any other noise. Shouldn't the victim be screaming by now?_...or did I miss?_

…_..click_

Another attempt to shoot whatever was making the noise. Still no screaming.

Now the private was losing it. Both shots failed to bring out any kind of scream in agony. Disrupter rifles were known to leave holes in people the size of soccer balls. You can't get hit and still stay quiet…..could you?

_Bang!_

The private's question was answered as he screamed to an earsplitting level. He fell to the floor, hard. Still alive, he continuously applied pressure to the injury. But it wasn't easy to try and apply pressure to a missing chunk where his kidney used to be.

_Step step step_

"I never liked disruptor rifles." Marietta explained as she walked towards the crippled soldier. "Always have _two_ safety switches to them—for ridiculous reasons I will never know."

She was wearing her towel. Thankfully the other private was still holding onto it after he found it.

"Y-you're the one who did this!" The private joked. "A woman?"

That pissed her off. "Yeah," Marietta smashes his knee in with her heel. "A woman."

The private screamed again, but before he could reach for his leg to try and comfort it, Marietta grabbed him by his foot and dragged him to one of the stalls. She then tied him up with the shower hose.

"I've had a bad history with the Vendini, but I'm in a good mood today. So I'll give you two choices." Marietta shot through her teeth. If the Vendini soldiers got this far, then there's a good chance the others are being harassed by them as well. She needs to get information, even if she has to do things she really shouldn't do.

The private whimpered loudly as he sat against the wall. His knee was broken and there was a hole scorched through his side. If he was going to die, he wanted it to be quick…but he knew that wasn't how this was going to end. "Y-y-you're a monster…" the private coughed as blood spilled from his mouth.

Reality struck her, hard. Marietta almost cried in front of an enemy soldier. No matter how she looked at things, this scene really made her look like the bad guy…..a monster. What's Lieber going to think? Will he be scared of her too?

_That's not important now_. Marietta shook her personal thoughts away. What _is _important now is the safety of her friends. Her inevitable tragedy was going to have to wait.

"One:" Marietta continued, trying to ignore the private's rigid fact. "You can tell me everything you know about this raid that you and the other soldiers have started here. Or two: I can show you how hot I needed to make the water to turn this place into a steam room."

_

* * *

Clank clank clank clank_

"Probably wasn't such a good idea for us to be wearing metal boots right now, Maria." Fayt whimpered after they stopped to check around a corner.

"Like I knew that I would ever have to be sneaking around my own damn ship." Maria shot back. "And this _really _isn't the best time to be arguing about anything."

"I'm not trying to argue." Fayt defensively replied. "It just seems pointless to try and be stealthy like this when we make so much noise from our feet—"

"Shh!" Maria interrupted.

Four Vendini soldiers were walking down the hall in a square formation, cautiously. These guys were wearing yellow as opposed to the common blue or red. Does that mean that they were tough?

Doesn't matter. They were enemy intruders and they had to be dealt with…..preferably the hard way. Maria made some hand signs with Fayt. He nodded his head in return. They've worked together for so long that this became second nature to them. Maria then drew a symbol in the air with her fingertip spelling 'power-up'.

As the soldiers neared the corner, Fayt slipped out from hiding and jumped over them. Before he landed, he managed to snag two of the rifles they were holding. Vendini had a bad habit of holding their weapons diagonally so grabbing them wasn't too difficult. The two rear soldiers, still clueless as to what just happened, took hits to the back of their heads from their own rifles.

As soon as Fayt's feet hit the floor, Maria ran around the corner and back-handed the legs of a soldier from under him before she whipped his rifle mid-air from his grip and slammed the butt into the other soldier's stomach, causing him to drop his weapon. Not forgetting the one she tripped, she smashed his head with the rifle she was still holding.

The last soldier was stunned. In just a matter of seconds, his entire squad was disarmed and knocked unconscious by…..kids? He fell to the ground, still holding on to his stomach. It hurt like hell. How did this _girl_ hit so damn hard?

"Seeing that the odds are stacked against you," Maria added arrogantly. "I suggest you start talking before I figure out where the safety is."

Fayt walked in front of the soldier. "What are you trying to do here?"

The soldier paused for a moment as he looked at Fayt. "…..Are you Fayt Leingod?"

"…..Yes I am." Fayt hesitantly replied. He wasn't sure if he should be telling this soldier anything right now.

"My mission was to scout this ship for any supplies. That's all—"

Maria kicked him in the stomach. "Bullshit."

"Maria!" Fayt whined.

"He wouldn't have asked for your name if he was a simple pirate."

"…..but—"

"What are you really here for?" Maria demanded, ignoring Fayt's hopeless persistence.

"….."

"You're not very good at this game, are you?"

"….."

Maria found the safety. A high pitched hum began vibrating.

"…_cough_..."

Maria pointed the weapon at the soldier's head.

_The weapon won't work unless you unlock both safety switches. She's so clueless about our protocol._ The soldier began laughing, weakly, but still fairly loud.

"What's so funny?" Maria asked.

"For a couple of children who have fought us so much, you're still oblivious."

"Oblivious about what?" Maria felt stupid for asking, but she really had no clue what he was talking about.

The soldier kept laughing. They were threatening him with a gun they didn't know how to use. To put it bluntly, they were aiming a _stick_ at his face.

_Bang!_

The soldier's left thigh was _gone_. His laughter was quickly tuned out by screams.

"Still pretty damn funny?" Maria asked while smiling.

"H-How!"

"Oh so the double safety-lock is what you were talking about huh? Well look at the mess were in now. You piss me off, and your confidence costs you your leg."

These were the bastards that killed Fayt's dad. Just when Maria was starting to like him, he gets gunned down by their bastard leader, Biwig. Fayt is too soft to just let his pity roll on these heartless villains. And dammit, if he's not going to get mad about what they did, then someone is just going to have to get mad for him. _Good thing I'm here._

"Now," Maria continued, "are we going to cooperate with each other a little more?"

"_Cough, cough._ You're too late!"

"I'm afraid I still don't follow you." Maria answered. As worried as she should be, she was much more curious.

"Heh heh. They're dead! They're all dead!" The soldier coughed again between laughs. "They gave up their pathetic lives for you, and now they're dead!" the soldier yelled. He finished his sentence with maniacal laughter.

"Wh-what!" Fayt yelled back. He grabbed the soldier by the collar, "What do you mean!"

"What part of, _cough,_ dead don't you get!" The soldier laughed again. This was just too much. He couldn't stop laughing now. All this time, the kid we were looking for was on this ship after all. "That guy with yellow hair gave us quite a show!"

"C-Cliff!" Fayt screamed as he ran to the mess hall.

The soldier sitting against the wall was beyond insanity now. He probably would have laughed himself to death, until Maria drew her gun a put a bullet in his head.

"I've heard enough from you." She added in the silence. As for the others, leaving the enemy unconscious always felt like a bad idea to her. And since Fayt was gone and he couldn't see what she was about to do, she shot bullets into the other bodies too.

Fayt scrambled to the mess hall's door. It wasn't working so he had to pry it open by force. He felt as though he didn't have much time. Something horrible could have happened in here, so he had to hurry. _Damn this door!_

"Cliff! Steeg! Lancar! Don't worry, I'm here!"

Finally, he shoved the door open and rushed inside, only to suddenly stop at the doorway.

"…..you." Fayt said after starring at the dark figure for a moment.

"Ah, Mr. Leingod. We _finally _meet again."

**

* * *

I can't help some of the awkward sentences I write. I tend to make more and **_**more **_**mistakes as the clock on my dresser gets later and **_**later. **_**My bad. And if you read my note at the beginning, I obviously did not bash my head against the ground or torture anybody. I used the term '**_**kinda'**_** as an overstatement (it was a joke, laugh a little).**


	6. Chapter 6

Before It Ends

Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN "Star Ocean: Till the End of Time" or any of its characters. All rights belong to the game developer Tri-Ace and the publisher Square ENIX.**

**Good news: School's been out for me and summer is in, which means more spare time to write—a happy occasion for both authors **_**and **_**readers alike.**

**More good news: I plan on making chapters a bit longer.**

**But I'm still sorry because I feel as though that this one is a little late. It's been rather difficult to get myself into the 'mood' lately.**

_

* * *

Ding Dong, Ding Dong, Ding Dong!_

The bells rang deep and applause cheered loudly as Lieber and his newlywed were joyfully fleeing down the church's staircase. Hand in hand, they were literally jumping down the stairs three at a time. The ovation was intoxicating, but the thought of settling down with the love of his life was motivating him to leave the ceremony sooner.

But the atmosphere was gorgeous. Fireworks were setting off, bouquets were already being tossed, flower petals were thrown unto the happy couple, doves were being released from their cages, and more and more cheering from the vast ocean of the jolly populace could be felt from the ground. Why should Lieber be in such a hurry?

_We're never to ourselves enough….. I want to be alone with her._

Lieber's excitement shot to his feet and forced them to run faster. His newlywed, unable to keep up with his pace, tripped over her own dress. Lieber's grasp was forced to let go as she tumbled down the rest of the long, long stairway. The crowd became silent as her body crashed to the ground. Whispers and gasps could be heard, but no one screamed or bothered to help her back up.

Lieber held out his now cold hand in shock. He began rushing down the stairway again, this time alone.

"Maria!" he yelled.

No movement. Was she dead?

"MARIA!"

Still no movement. It didn't look like she was breathing either.

Lieber finally reaches the bottom. "Maria?"

No answer. She was still lying on her side with her back turned towards the stairs.

Lieber grabbed her shoulders and struggled to turn her around. "Oh God. Maria, _please,_ answer me."

The bride finally turned over to face Lieber, only to frighten Lieber's very soul. "Why Maria?"

Fayt was gaping up at Lieber with bruises and cuts writhed on his face….but he didn't look upset, he didn't look _sarcastically_ happy either. It was just a blank expression—almost as if he was already dead with his eyes left open.

"Wh-What did you do to my Maria!" Lieber screamed as he changed his gentle cradle into a submission. The woman of his life was just in his hands….and now she's gone. All that was left was the one person Lieber despises most. He was on the brink of shedding tears as he thrashed Fayt against the floor.

"…..Why Maria?"

"Shut up!"

Lieber punched Fayt as hard as he could between his eyes.

"…..Why Ma—"

Lieber punched Fayt again, and again, and again. He couldn't stop himself. He wanted to mash this bastard into pulp.

The crowd around him was completely silent. They motionlessly watched Lieber beat his newlywed till blood began to stain the grass around them.

After what seemed like ages, Lieber finally stopped and started to breathe heavily. His fist ached throughout his knuckles…..but it the pain was well worth it. To check his kill, he grabbed the cross-dresser by the collar…..but something wasn't right. Other than the damage done by Lieber's hate, something was different.

The body's hair was a darker tint of blue than Fayt's hair color. And the hair was long enough to reach the shoulder blades as well. The body's face and build also seemed different now, almost as if—

"N-no." Lieber whispered to himself. He just pummeled Maria to death.

"She was beautiful in that dress." A voice acknowledged the situation as footsteps approached Lieber. "And now it's ruined…_Everything _is ruined."

"Wh-what?" Lieber pouted. He was crying as he looked up at the voice's source.

The voice continued. "The dress, the wedding, the happiness of the scene unfolding before us, but most importantly: Maria's future."

"Y-you!" Lieber screamed as he pointed at Fayt. "I was punching you! How did you get over there!"

As if to answer his question, Lieber looked around and noticed that the crowd was entirely made up of Fayt. They continued to watch the scene, emotionlessly.

Lieber panics as he looked back down at the cold dead Maria still in his grasp. The body was already decomposing.

"I never loved you Lieber, and I never will!" A voice screamed at him.

"Wh-what?" Lieber quivered as he looked back up. He heard the retort clearly; he just didn't want it to be who he thought it was.

Maria was standing next to Fayt with a clenched fist and an arm wrapped around his. Her angry expression gave off a heat that Lieber could feel from where he was kneeling.

"M-Maria?"

The crowd of Fayt turned pitched black and molded into darkness which began creeping over the sky; engulfing the area into complete shadows, leaving the three of them the only color to be seen in the obscurity.

"Maria!"

Maria simply 'hmmphed' as she took Fayt's hand and walked away, eventually fading into the darkness.

"MARIA!" Lieber cried out into the abyss. He held out his hand towards the direction Maria left and began to get up from his knees…..but a hand grabbed his shirt before he could chase after her.

Lieber quickly turned around only to find the partially decomposed corpse grasping onto his clothing. Terrified, Lieber struggled and squirmed his way off of its grip, but it was no use—it was too strong.

"…Why Maria?" The corpse asked once more with a deep and demonic voice. Upon finishing its sentence, the corpse opened its jaw and lunged towards Lieber.

* * *

"Noooooo!"

Lieber screamed himself back to consciousness. His heart beat was so hard it hurt. His shirt collar was soaked with his sweat, keeping the heat in underneath the fabric. It was as if his own body was trying to wake himself up to help Lieber escape such a terrifying nightmare. Breathing hard, he put his hands to his face to help calm himself down…..and to make sure his face was never eaten.

_A-a dream…it was just a dream._

But you only dream when you aren't conscious.

_Where am I? What happened?_

That's right; he's on the bridge and he hit his head against the floor when the ship quaked.

_How long did I lay here?...!_

That's not important now. What _is _important is that Maria is gone. Where the hell did she go? She didn't run off with _him_…..did she?

Lieber struggled to stand back up without the help of the walls. He wasn't bleeding, but his head still throbbed hard enough to affect his vision. Lieber limped towards the bridge's exit and pushed the button by the door…..but it didn't open. So he pressed it again, harder…..but still nothing.

"What the hell?" Lieber cursed to himself. "Stupid thing must be jammed or something—"

Lieber managed to prop the door open, only to be nearly scared to death as a vendini soldier fell through the opening. The shock took a moment to regress, but Lieber eventually began inspecting the body. "…..V-Vendini?"

The Diplo has been breached. This wasn't the time to be investigating…this was the time to be protecting Maria.

_I have to save her!_

Determination shook off his head trauma. Blinded by the fire burning within, Lieber picked up the rifle from the body and charged out the door.

Blindly running into the Diplo's corridor with a weapon he has no clue how to use, Lieber halted where the hallway T's. Luck was on his side seeing that he didn't randomly bump into any enemy soldiers…..but Lieber lacked any show of gratitude. He was still too preoccupied with which direction he should charge in next.

Finally making a decision, Lieber dashes right and spins around the corner. He then charges down the stairs and—

_Slam!_

Lieber tumbles backwards after colliding with a solid object…no, it was surprisingly soft. What the hell was that?_...VENDINI! _Lieber immediately panics and aims the disruptor rifle without looking and pulls the trigger.

_Click_

"…H-Huh?" Lieber stuttered.

_Click….Click, Click_

"Why won't this damn thing shoot!"

"…..Have you tried the second safety switch?" a feminine voice intervened.

"Second switch? What kind of idiot….." Lieber stopped himself as he realized who he was aiming at.

Marietta was a mere click away from death. However, she looked surprisingly calm, but deep inside, Marietta truly felt that her life would've ended, causing a dash of fear to scuttle down her neck and spine.

…_..So that's why there're two safety buttons. I can't believe I feel like I owe the Vendini._

Her fear quickly turned into frustration and anger. She was _this _close to being blown to pieces by someone so careless and sporadic. Lieber quickly pointed the gun away to drop any hostilities between them. She looked demonic enough to tear Lieber in two for making such a careless mistake that nearly cost Marietta her life.

"M-Marietta! Look, I'm really sorry. I should be more observant about where…..I'm….going…." Lieber continued but his words along with his thoughts and focus began to drift towards Marietta's attire—who was wearing nothing but a single towel wrapped around her torso.

_So the soft thing I ran into was…or should I say…things…_

"Lieber? What are you looking at?"

Flustered about being caught gawking, Lieber turns red enough for steam to rise from his ears. He desperately tries to change the subject. "Wh-wh-what do you think y-you're doing wandering around like th-th-that!"

"I just got out of the showers. Is it weird to wear towels after washing off?" Marietta replied nonchalantly. She was in control of the conversation now. And all she really had to do was wear a little less clothing. Man, this is easy. Why hasn't she thought of talking to him like this in the past?

"N-No! It's not weird. It's just that since the ship has been breached and—"

Lieber was cut off as Marietta quickly grabbed his arm and hid at the corner of the stairway.

"H-Hey!" Lieber protested. Nearly tearing his arm off wasn't a polite way to tell someone to shut up.

"Shhh!"

"Don't tell me to—"

This time Marietta silenced him by force. Almost bruising his cheeks, Marietta clenched his mouth shut with her free hand while the other began taking the rifle Lieber was holding…..just in case she needed it, but she was hoping that she could avoid another fight.

_Clank, Clank, Clank, Clank_

That's a lot of footsteps. _Five? Six? There's too many._ Along with keeping herself alive, she has to make sure Lieber survives as well. He too spent most of his days of duty behind Quark's computers. Being a human with little strength and even less combat experience, he won't be too much help.

_Hopefully they won't come downstairs yet—_

_BANG!_ Lieber accidentally pulls the trigger after trying to tug the weapon back from Marietta's grip. Marietta looks back at Lieber with fear and shock. Not only did the blast give them away, but it left a hole the size of a soccer ball in the wall mere centimeters from Marietta's head. She almost met death twice because of the same individual…..and he's supposed to be on the same side.

"…Oops…I uh….found the other safety…"

_Clank, Clank, Clank, Clank, Clank, Clank!_

As much as she wanted to, Marietta didn't have time to get mad at Lieber—she didn't spare the time to curse out loud either. With little thinking, she hastily grabbed Lieber by the collar and fled to the adjacent room by the stairwell and closed the door.

Marietta quickly pried the disruptor rifle out of his hands, this time with full force, and tossed Lieber onto the bed. Before Lieber could yell and protest again, Marietta already had her back towards him and prepared herself for whatever may charge through the door.

Ten seconds, 30 seconds, a full minute of complete silence…..and nothing happened. Shouldn't they have already barged in by now? Marietta didn't take any chances though. She refused to take her eyes off the door.

Lieber couldn't help but gaze around the room. _I-isn't this her room? _Lieber gazes from corner to corner dumbfounded. _This is the first time I've ever been in Marietta's cabin_.

Lieber noticed that the place was almost completely packed…..except for one last picture frame. Being the last possession to be packed, it must be pretty special. _Wonder what the photo could be?_

Curiosity got the best of him. Lieber leaned in to get a better view.

It was a picture of the entire crew shortly before Maria's arrival. A joyful group photo of everyone doing their own pose. Some were jumping, some were waving, others were putting friends in headlocks. When Lieber finally found himself in the photo, he noticed he was standing behind…..Marietta? With his arms wrapped around her!

"Wh-what—?" _I don't remember this…_

_Clink! Slide!_

"Here they are! I found th—"

Marietta swiftly smashed her heel into the Vendini's abdominals with all her strength, launching him against the wall across from the door. She then quickly rolls out of the doorway with her rifle still in hand and takes aim where she knew where they would be—searching the other rooms down the hall.

A soldier managed to see her, but wasn't fast enough to keep his head. One clean shot from her rifle was all it took to disintegrate the weight above his shoulders.

Responding faster than his fallen comrade, the Vendini behind him quickly strafed to the side and fired in the direction the attack was coming from. He didn't take the time to aim, so his shots blindly scorched holes into the wall behind her.

Marietta dove to the ground and laid her elbows on the floor. She didn't panic like the soldier did. Instead she concentrated with the rifle's sights. One shot managed to hit his arm, and another his leg. The soldier fell to the ground before he knew he was hit.

Lieber finally rushes out of the room with a panicked expression. "Marietta! Are you oka—" Lieber tried to finish but was cut off when he noticed that she was lying on the ground with her legs pointing in his direction…..while she was still wearing that damn towel.

"Yeah I'm fine, just get back in the—AAHH!" Marietta shrieked after realizing what Lieber could see. She instinctively rolled over and covered herself with a free hand.

"S-s-sorry! I didn't—LOOK OUT!"

Three more soldiers turned around a corner, guns blazing. Lieber scurried back into the cabin while Marietta took aim, still lying on her back. She managed to score two shots on one of them before she rolled into another room.

Marietta pressed her back against the closed door and breathed deeply. All these near-death experiences were starting to fatigue her dangerously. She's had more action these past few minutes than she did her entire employment in the organization.

Taking advantage of the brief serenity, she checked her ammunition…..empty. Damn. Going to have to rely on surprise attacks now, which is easier said than done when the enemy already knows where you are.

_Well, it worked the first time._ Marietta stood back up and faced the door with the utmost attention yet again and waited for the door to open.

A painfully long five minutes have passed this time, and still no action. What are they doing? _Are they waiting for me this time?_ If they want to play the waiting game, they would most likely win. They had all the time in the galaxy whilst Marietta was burdened with the well-being of the rest of her friends who could be in danger…..and Lieber!

_Damn! They might have already gotten to him by now! How could I have waited here for so long like an idiot!_

Dropping her strategy, Marietta opens the door and prepares herself for anything…..except for the fact that they were nowhere to be seen.

"Wh-Where did they—" Marietta stops as her eyes notice the door to her room was halfway open. "Oh no. Lieber!"

Marietta drops her empty rifle and dashes for the room and slams the door open with force.

Inside the room were the two vendini soldiers lying on the ground, unconscious, and Lieber standing next to them, trembling. He held a rifle by the barrel with both hands. The butt of the weapon was dented in several different places.

"H-How did you?"

"I hate these damn guns! Stupid double safetys!"

"B-but you're just a ship navigator! How did you take these trained soldiers down by yourself?"

"…..Idiots didn't know how to operate the doors correctly…"

Marietta starred at Lieber with disbelief, but then her expression changed to disappointment. "You kept closing the door when their heads poked through, didn't you?"

"…"

"Then you pried the gun out from his hands and tried to use it…..but you couldn't find the safety. So you simply bashed their heads with it when they furiously charged in, blinded and stupefied with anger."

"…..so?"

_Is it bad for me to pity the unconscious soldiers in here?_

Marietta let out a deep sigh. After all the combat training she's gone through, this nav tech managed to press his luck and take out two battle-hardened soldiers.

"I hope the others have been as fortunate as we have."

* * *

"H-How are you—"

"Still alive?" Biwig finished for Fayt. "That's a story for another time, boy. As much as I would love to deal with you my own way here and now, the thought is beyond my…..jurisdiction."

Fayt couldn't believe what he was hearing…..or seeing. Biwig, the corrupted Vendini commander that was defeated on Elicoor…..was standing right here in front of him. Fayt always assumed that he was dead or left stranded and crippled on the underdeveloped planet….so this shouldn't be happening.

Most of the lights in the room were blown and merely keeping the room partially lit with their sparks. Fayt couldn't see Biwig very clearly, but it was definitely him. He looked very different though. Fayt didn't remember him wearing a black cape that covered his entire body. And his head was pitched black as well? Did he get a promotion?

"Wh-what do you want?" Fayt asked. He was trembling with a fear he couldn't describe. He's familiar with Biwig, but there was something…..dark about his presence.

"What do I want?" Biwig repeated. "It's not what I want right now, boy. What _I _want comes later, _much _later. And you better hope that will be a very long time from now."

Biwig took a few steps towards Fayt, slowly. "Because what I want more than anything…..is quite simple….."

Fayt raises his guard and prepares himself for anything. This wasn't the time to be afraid of the dark.

Biwig finally stops a few feet from Fayt. "I…..want to put you in a world with no tomorrow…..I want to grind you into the dirt you call home until you are literally _one_ with the planet. I want the life from your very soul drained into nothingness as you feebly wish for it to come back, but all you get is filth shoveled into your face. I want to make you suffer the blistering cruelties of fate."

A smile crawls across Biwigs face. "But most of all, I want to watch you helplessly weep for those you cannot save…..or should I say _"couldn't" _save."

Fear shoots through Fayt. "Wh-what?"

The flickering stops briefly before powering back on to reveal the room once more….Fayt immediately wished the lights would have stayed broken.

The mess hall was in ruins. The main table was overturned, not a single chair was intact, broken glass littered the floor…..and the color red was smeared and spattered throughout the entire room.

"They foolishly gave up themselves to keep your whereabouts unknown…..and here you are—right in front of me." Biwig finished with a laugh.

Fayt finally noticed the corner of the room, littered with bodies—each one gawking emotionlessly without any sign of life. Horror stuck Fayt's chest. He felt like he couldn't breathe, but when he could breathe, he felt like vomiting. Fayt could only cover his mouth as he fell to his knees.

_I…..I couldn't save them…_

"Lucky for you," Biwig continued, ignoring Fayt's horror shock. "You barged in before I could deal with the final two here. They were able to last longer than the…..less fortunate."

A soldier steps forward and tosses Mirage and Cliff onto the floor in front of Fayt. They were still in really bad shape. When they hit the floor, Mirage was the only one who cried out in pain. Cliff, however, didn't even move. He just laid there lifelessly.

"Wh-what the hell did you do to them?" Fayt cried. Anguished with intangible pain, Fayt nearly lost control of his words.

"What did I do?" Biwig answered. "_They_ would be just _dandy_ if they hadn't resisted. _I _was merely asking questions…..and they answer me with disrespect and violence!"

"…..F-Fayt? Is that you?" Mirage asked weakly.

Fayt quickly dove to Mirage's side. Biwig let him. There wasn't much Fayt could do for her anyways.

"Mirage!"

"Fayt?...F-Fayt? I…I can't see.." Mirage tried finding his face with her hands, but her trembling showed Fayt that she was in a lot of pain, so he took Mirage's hand in his.

"It-It's okay. I'm here…" Fayt replied while on the verge of tears. This shouldn't be happening. Everyone was supposed to retire and live peacefully for the rest of their lives…..they shouldn't be suffering like this after saving the whole universe.

"Wh-where's Cliff?" Mirage stuttered, almost afraid of the answer.

"H-he's…..he's right here….right here next to you." Fayt replied.

"…..Is he okay?"

"Y-yeah….he's just fine….he'll be just fine.."

Mirage chuckled a little bit in Fayt's arms. "…You're lying.."

"….."

His silence was enough of an answer. As if to answer back, a tear rolled down Mirage's cheek as she closed her eyes.

"…Mirage?"

No answer.

"Mirage!" Fayt helplessly cried again.

Mirage still lay motionless in his arms. All he could do now was hold her hand tightly and let fate decide from here. Within his grip, Fayt noticed something hard in her hand.

Tears wept down Fayt's cheeks. The ring looked beautiful on her finger.

"Hmmph, it seems this one is still alive." Biwig admits nonchalantly as he kicks Cliff rather roughly.

Cliff groans out loud as he tries to stand up, but it was no use. With little leg strength and even less vigor in his arms, he fell back to the floor.

"I'll see to it that the task it thoroughly carried out this time." Biwig finishes as he lifts up his boot and—

"Gravity Bullet!"

From the voice's source, a ball sparking with purple electricity is hurled towards Biwig. He immediately jumps back and crosses his arms to try and keep the static from doing too much damage.

The ball ferociously shot out bolts of lightning as it continued its course towards Biwig, zapping several other soldiers within reach. As numerous Vendini bodies hit the floor, Biwig still stood strong at the far end of the room.

"Fayt! Hurry up and grab those two and get out of here!"

Fayt was still recovering from shock, but quickly shook it off. "R-right!" He hastily tossed the two Klausians over his shoulders and dashed out the door.

The ball of electricity finally reached Biwig. With a loud grunt, he uncrossed his arms outward and shattered the ball into harmless jolts of static. Biwig set his arms back down and clenched both of his fists tightly. "…Leingod!"

Maria was already running down the hall, checking the corners for any more hostiles. Fayt finally catches up and narrows down the questions jumbling in his head to the most important at the moment. "So what's your plan?"

"Plan?" Maria answered without making eye contact. She was too busy looking for any potential ambushes.

"You should have thought of something by now, seeing that you took your time getting to the mess hall."

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe I was a little busy clearing the area of any soldiers."

"If you had done that, then why are you looking around for them so much?"

This was the tricky part. What was she supposed to say? 'Sorry, I was busy putting bullets in unconscious people.' She wasn't in the mood for one of Fayt's lectures right now.

"You never know, Fayt. I could have missed a few."

"…..Look, can't we just take the teleportation device?"

"No time. I would need someone at the bridge to set coordinates. And that Vendini in black looks like trouble. I mean didn't you see him? He was tough enough to take a direct hit, and he just brushes it away. That's insane!"

"You didn't recognize him?"

"I didn't have time to look. Was I supposed to know who he was?"

"…..It's Biwig."

Maria skids to a halt and turns to finally make eye contact with Fayt. "…..what!"

"I know, I couldn't believe it either. But I know it's him."

"Th-that's not possible! We ki—"

"Apparently not." Cliff interrupted.

Fayt and Maria simultaneously looked at Cliff. "Cliff," Fayt nagged. "You really shouldn't be wasting any energy talk—"

"Fayt put me down." Cliff retorted. "I'm not some damsel that needs carrying."

Giving up to Cliff's seemingly endless persistence, Fayt gently sets Cliff back on his feet.

"Fayt isn't lying, Maria." Cliff confirmed. "He's really back."

"H-How!" Maria asked, still full of shock.

"I don't know…..but he's mostly machine now."

"Th-that's impossible!"

"No it isn't. And to make things worse, he's tough…..really tough. Took on me and Mirage like we were children."

"I-I can't believe what I'm—"

"You want proof!" Cliff shot back. He points to himself, all bloodied and battered. "You think I would do this to myself! Look, I tried, I gave it my all….but it wasn't enough. I couldn't even…..I couldn't even protect Mirage! How the hell do you think I feel!"

Both Fayt and Maria were looking back at Cliff, defeated. Nothing they could say could make Cliff feel better about himself. Even if they tried, Cliff would reply angrily and angst about himself even more…..but who could blame him? Everyone who was happily enjoying lunch in the mess hall was now just a pile of corpses. All those years of Quark, and all those cherished memories together were simply thrown away with them…..and Cliff could have saved the countless reminiscences if he was strong enough.

Cliff pounds the floor furiously. After calming himself down a little, he stands back up. "…..how's she doin?"

Fayt looks back up to meet Cliff's eyes. "Mirage?" Fayt asks while still holding Mirage in his arms. "She's breathing. As long as we can get some of the major damage fixed soon, she'll be alright…but Cliff….I don't think she can ever see again…"

Maria looks back up and gasps slightly, but still said nothing. She didn't feel as though she were in the position to ask such painful questions.

Cliff raises his gaze from Mirage back up to Fayt. "…I know…"

"Wh-what?"

"….I saw Biwig do this to her myself. After toying with us, he picked up Mirage by the chin and….his eyes were glowing…and then he said something about never being able to see me again…and, and…" Cliff tried to continue, but stopped himself before breaking out in tears. He just simply covered his face with one hand and held onto Mirage with the other.

"…..Cliff—" Fayt tried to reassure him, but was interrupted by a loud voice.

"Where are you Leingod!"

The scream sent chills down Fayt's spine. They had to get away…..but where? It all seemed so pointless. There was no way off this ship and the bridge is probably infested with soldiers by now, so there was no way to turn on their distress beacon either. And who would come to Quark's aid? The nearly diminished Federation? _Guess there's only one thing left to do._

Fayt set Mirage down gently against the wall and began walking towards the source of the screaming. As he reached the corner, a hand grabbed his shirt and jerked him back. "You numbskull! What the hell were you thinking!" Cliff complained with a muffled yell.

"He's only here for me. All I need to do is show up and we'll be on our merry way…._that_ or the least I could do is buy you guys some time to figure something out—"

"I've already got a plan." Cliff interrupted.

That caught Maria off guard too. Cliff has a plan? That can't be right.

"Yeah, yeah, gawk at me all you want, but the plan is already happening right now." Cliff answered defensively.

"What are you talking about?" Maria finally spoke. She was too confused to let all this roll on without her intervening.

"I discussed it with Lancar when the soldiers thought I was unconscious. In just a few more minutes, he should be in the bridge activating the—"

Cliff was cut off when an alarm sounded and all of the lights began flashing red.

"Th-the self-destruct system!" Maria panicked.

Cliff sighs deeply and rubs the back of his head. "….A little too soon, Lancar."

"Cliff! What are we supposed to do now!" Fayt yelled. This was a flaw that nearly gambles their safety against them completely.

"Now we make a run for the escape pods."

"Escape pods! Since when did this ship have escape pods!"

"I thought it'd be a good idea to install some ever since the incident when we were nearly blown to pieces by that stealth—"

"Really not the time to be chatting amongst ourselves guys!" Maria interrupted.

"She's right. We better get—aahh!" Cliff stumbles to the floor.

"Cliff, you better swallow your pride and hold onto me." Maria protests as she reaches a hand out for him.

Cliff still wasn't in very good shape, and this wasn't the best time to argue. He really didn't want to slow them down. Reluctantly, he takes her hand….only to be tossed over her shoulder.

"H-Hey wait a minute! This isn't what I had in mi—"

"Shut up, Cliff!" Maria spits back as she makes a dash to catch up with Fayt.

**

* * *

I don't know about you guys, but I tend to imagine myself in the scenes that I write about. I started freaking out as I was going through Lieber's nightmare.**

**Interesting fact: I got the idea for the 'wedding nightmare' from a bad dream **_**I**_** had recently, which is why I get a little uneasy when I re-read though this. Sure could use a Beta-reader these days. That'd be swell.**


	7. Chapter 7

Before It Ends

Chapter 7

Good-Bye's Begin with Regret and yet End in Substance

**

* * *

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN "Star Ocean: Till the End of Time" or any of its characters. All rights belong to the game developer Tri-Ace and the publisher Square ENIX.**

**I've had to replay the game yet again to re-inspire me to write. I was beginning to lose credentials in my own writing and ideas so much…..that I almost gave up on this story completely. But I couldn't live with myself if I dropped this just because I was feeling a little unmotivated.**

* * *

"_It's better to trust in those who love and care for you rather than trying to find yourself or follow some faith."_

_

* * *

Dammit Cliff. How did I let you talk me into doing this?_

Lancar couldn't help but repeat his troubled thoughts to himself as he shifted through the Diplo's ventilation labyrinth. He really didn't want to be in here. In fact, Lancar couldn't help but reminisce about how he ended up sneaking through the freezing shafts in the first place…..

* * *

(_About 15 minutes ago…_)

The stench of death within the mess hall became too intoxicating to breathe in. Lancar wasn't sure what was going to kill him first: the stench or the Vendeen. He was hoping for the later.

"…..h-hey, Lancar…how you doin?" Cliff asked weakly.

Lancar didn't realize Cliff was lying next to him. He's been lying face down for so long, he lost awareness of everything that was going on in the room.

"…..I've been better. What about you?"

"…I'm not dead."

"….."

"…Listen Lancar, I…..we're the only ones who can do somethin' about this right now."

"…..What about the rest of—"

"I wasn't just sayin '**we**' out of habit….you and I are the only ones moving."

"…"

Cliff was right. The only faces that were still intact were blankly starring around the room, lifelessly. What was going through their heads as they knew their last moments of living was slipping through the hour glass? Friends? Love? Family?...Regret? Lancar will never know. That thought was hard to swallow. He lost more than just friends today…he lost countless memories that **could** have been made. Lancar felt as if a part of himself died with them.

"Mourning for the others will have to come later. Right now, we can't let these scum have what they want."

"And what exactly is that? If you're so sure, then why not fill me in?" Lancar asked, annoyed. His friends are dead for reasons he doesn't know. And now Cliff talks as if he's known what they've wanted from the start.

"…..I've known what they've wanted from the start." Cliff replied nonchalantly.

"….."

"It's the same thing that they've wanted last time we got tangled with the Vendeen."

"…Thing? Don't you mean 'some**one**?" Lancar realized.

"Well, they're probably after **her** too."

"…..So what's your plan? You going to try to take **him** out again?"

"Don't you think I would've if I could?" Cliff shot back, offended. Lancar's bad mood wasn't making Cliff feel very controlled either. This wasn't the time to be sarcastic.

"Look, we—" Cliff stopped himself as a soldier walked past the two survivors. As soon as the trooper was far enough, Cliff continued. "—we aren't sure if the others have been caught yet, so one of us is going to have to slip out of here and find them while the other—"

"Cliff! Steeg! Lancar! Don't worry, I'm here!"

The broken door is shoved open, making a loud shrieking sound that echoes throughout the room. Fayt quickly dashes in and halts in front of Biwig.

"Crud." Cliff cursed to himself. "Bad timing, Fayt."

"…..At least we know he's okay."

"….No…no wait this can work. Look, Lancar, while Fayt is being the center of attention, you need to slip outta here and head for the bridge."

"…Wh-Wha?" Lancar stuttered.

"Don't 'wha?' me. You need to get to—"

"Cliff!" Lancar yelled through his teeth, annoyed. He didn't like being treated like a child from a guy who's probably younger than him.

Cliff immediately shushed him and reminded Lancar that there was still a soldier standing not too far from them.

They got lucky. The vendeen soldier focused his attention back to the show in the center of the room.

"Lancar," Cliff continued. "Get to the captain's computer in the bridge and input the code SD5953-R4Z25."

"SD? What is that? Space Date? What kind of stupid code—"

"It's 'self-destruct' you numbskull."

"And how the hell do you know this?"

"It hasn't been **that** long since I was the one using that computer."

"What? What kind of plan—"

"I'm not finished. While you're doing that, I'll be creating a distraction so that the way to the escape pods will be clear. Then you can use the opportunity to make a run for it too and meet up with the others."

"That's it?"

"Well I **was** gonna ask you to wait till I find the two bluenettes, but that shouldn't be a problem now, seeing that they came and found us first. But I'm still gonna have to ask you to give us some time to—"

"I can see Fayt, but where's Maria?"

"Knowing her, she's probably not that far from Fayt. Don't you know anything?"

"I know how to propose."

"…"

"…Anyways, as simple as your plan sounds, how am I going to get to the bridge from here? The Vendeen probably think I'm dead so a corpse that suddenly gets up and runs off isn't going to have too much time on a computer."

"That's the tough part. Gimme a sec to think."

Cliff began to frantically look around the room for a way out. The way out had to be somewhere you couldn't be seen using. It also had to lead to the Diplo's bridge. It **also** had to be easily accessible without being noticed….._Ah-ha!_

"There. Right behind us." Cliff exclaimed with a look of excitement.

"…the wall?"

"No, smartass. The vent **in** the wall."

"The ventilation ducts? You can't be—"

"No time to nag. Hurry up and go."

"I can't phase through metal, Cliff."

"Shut up and use this."

Cliff quietly slips a hand into his pocket and tosses the disintegration ring to Lancar.

"What's this?"

"Just point the ring at the vent's doors when you get close enough. The ring will work its magic from there. Oh, and make sure you're not too close when the ring's done or else the debris will land right on top of you and you'll have to restart the whole—"

"Shh!" Lancar shot at Cliff. He noticed the soldier was starting to get a little suspicious of the 'corpses' behind him.

"Look, just go." Cliff whispered.

"Okay…..hey wait; isn't the captain's computer password protected?"

"Ah damn. Well maybe it's something like 'I(heart)fayt', or 'FaytxMariaforever', or 'Maria Leingod', or maybe—"

"I get it. I'll figure it out on my own." Lancar interrupted.

"Hey, I was actually tryin to help you out—"

Cliff was cut off as he took hard hit from the butt of the soldier's rifle. He immediately loses consciousness.

"I knew it." The Vendeen whispered to himself. He then grabs Cliff by the collar and starts walking towards his commanding officer. "Sir, This one's still moving."

"I found another one here, sir. She just regained consciousness." Another soldier yelled while dragging Mirage across the floor.

Biwig couldn't help but grin as he nodded the soldiers to drop the survivors in front of him. "You barged in before I could deal with the final two here. They were able to last longer than the…..less fortunate." Biwig couldn't have been happier today. The figure he held such resentment towards was on the brink of tears. It made him feel so satisfied, he could shiver from sheer excitement….but shivering is caused by muscle tissue, and thanks to this little bastard, Biwig no longer had any.

"Good. Toss them here so that I can reacquaint them with Mr. Leingod."

_Oh no._ Lancar wanted to do something…but what could he do? He's not a soldier…..not anymore. His age caught up with him. He couldn't save them even if he **were **one at the moment. Lancar reluctantly turned away and struggled towards the vent's entrance.

_Don't die on me you jerk._

* * *

It was cold within the ventilation maze, very cold. As clouds of his own breath reached the metallic walls surrounding him, it turned into solid blotches of ice.

_Why the hell do we leave it so cold in here!_

Space is cold, and keeping the ship warm costs money. What money could a non-profit organization have? Quark may have actually **done** some intergalactic trading while they were '_undercover,_' but finances were mostly spent on food and other survival necessities.

_Ugh! Why have I stayed with Quark for so lo—_

"Hey!" A voice shouted.

"What!" Another voice panicked.

Lancar immediately stops everything he was doing…..even his own thinking.

"…I think I heard something…"

"You're always **hearing** something."

"No, I'm serious…..it sounds like it's…..coming from….." As the voice trails off, footsteps can be heard echoing throughout the room.

Lancar could hear the footsteps clearly. Every step he heard was in sync with his own heartbeat. As his anxiety grew, his heartbeat grew louder with it. Getting caught now meant that it was all over, and then he'll be the next one piled on top of the stack of corpses. Lancar closes his eyes.

"…It's coming from….HERE!"

Lancar's eyes were still closed…..then he slowly opens them, expecting to see someone's face in front of his.

"…..See? Nothing. You're paranoia is really starting to piss me off."

"And you're laziness is pissing off me. How do you—" The voice continues on as it trails away from Lancar's position.

Lancar's blood was rushing so fast that he forgot he was freezing to death a few moments ago.

_Got to keep moving._ _Got to keep moving._

It was easy to repeat in his head, but his limbs were less cooperative than his head was. They were stiff, not just from the cold, but from fear. What if he doesn't make it? What if he's caught? What would happen to him?...What would happen to the others if he fell short of getting to the bridge?

_I…..No, I can't let anyone else die just because I couldn't do my part._

Lancar finally makes his way to the shafts within the bridge. Even though his skin felt like another layer of cold metal stuck to his body, he carefully scans the room for any soldiers. After double checking the bridge, he points the disintegration ring at the vent's opening, and watches the door crumble—"

_CLANK CLANK CLANK!_

The leftover pieces of the opening hit the floor loudly. Horror was painted over Lancar's face. "Fantastic…"

Lancar quickly rolls out of the shaft and heads for the bridge's door. He then presses his ear against it, hoping no one would be charging towards his location.

"See, **now **I know I heard something." A familiar voice grew louder.

"Don't flatter yourself this time. I heard it too. I think it came from the other side of this door—"

_Beep._

"Ugh! It's locked! There's definitely someone in there."

Lancar didn't waste any more time. After locking the door, he dashes over to the captain's chair and spins towards the console. Lancar readies his hands in 'get-ready-to-type-really-fast' position.

As the computer screen flickers on, the window displays: _Password?_

"Great. I forgot about this…..let's see…uh…."

Lancar begins typing, vigorously, anything that came to mind about Maria, Quark, Moonbase, Firearms….._DAMMIT!_

Lancar slams his head onto the desk. "How am I supposed to get this?"

The voices could still be heard on the other side of the door. "Look, why don't we just blast the damn thing?"

"And have the shot ricochet and smoke us instead? Genius! Absolute Genius!"

"If I shoot you, the shot won't ricochet off of your **head**, smartass!"

_They seem to get along well. At least that'll give me some more time in here. Think, you helpless prick, think!_..."Wait a second!"

A brief second later and the screen displayed: _Fayt Leingod_….._incorrect._

"Of course it wouldn't be that easy…..Maria must've been pretty confident in her password if I'm aloud so many chances—"

_: 30 seconds until security shut down._

"…"

Lancar furiously begins typing **anything** that popped in his head. Seeing that he has an unlimited amount of chances, trial and error was his best shot.

_I(heart)Fayt….Incorrect_

_Tooblue4u….Incorrect_

_Maria Leingod….Incorrect_

_Cliff's an idiot….Incorrect_

"Ugh! Dammit, what else goes through this girl's head!" Lancar gets so frustrated that he almost tore out his sideburns.

After their constant bickering, one of the voices shouted, "Get back! I'm blasting it!"

Lancar grasps his head with both hands. _No! What haven't I tried?... _Lancar looks back up at the screen. _No way….._

_Fayt Traydoor….Accepted._

Lancar felt like he could have thrown a celebration for his success, except time was unanimously against him. But who would have thought that Maria wanted to keep her own name…..other than Lancar, of course. _Damn, no time to gloat to myself either._

Lancar inputs the SD code immediately after boot up.

_Self-destruct code accepted. Commence countdown?_

_BAM! BAM!_ "Open up, damn you!" The voice screams from the other side of the door. He's gotten louder. The shots may actually be melting through the door. There's not much time left.

"Sorry Cliff. I can't give you any more time than this….."

_BAM! _A shot seers through the door and flies into the room, colliding with Lancar's shoulder.

A brief moment passed and Lancar wondered why the self-destruct sequence wasn't starting. He tried clicking again and again, but soon realized he wasn't clicking anything…his arm couldn't work properly from the floor.

Lancar fell to his knees and tightly grasped where his arm used to be. It was too painful to keep standing, too painful to think clearly…..too painful to scream. Lancar was beginning to feel nauseous as the room started to blur. Starring at his own arm lying in front of him was making him sick to his stomach.

"I-I got him! I actually got him through the door!" The soldier cried out as he peered through the newly made hole.

"Lucky shot. Now hurry up and unlock the door."

…_Your luck's about to take a bad turn._ Lancar smiles as he initiates the shut down with his other arm. _Too bad my luck isn't much better._

A siren blares throughout the ship while the halls flash red. _"Self-destruct initiated. Please evacuate immediately."_

Finally getting the job done, Lancar collapses to the floor. The burnt flesh on his shoulder was starting to bleed profusely now. Loss of blood was making Lancar's head feel too light-headed to sit up straight.

The soldiers quickly barge into the bridge after unlocking the door. They stopped next to where Lancar was lying on the ground.

"…_cough…_what took you bastards so long?" Lancar squeezed out. The shot must've punctured part of his lung too. And his vision was too deluded to see them very clearly, but the white heads and the yellow uniforms were all too easy to recognize.

"This troublemaker just activated the self-destruct system?" One of the two Vendeen soldiers asks out loud.

The other soldier stares at the console for a moment. "…..Looks that way."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a bad thing you just did. Now I'm going to have to punish you. I don't want me to do this as much as you do—"

Lancar spits blood as high as he could and manages to spray some of the soldier's uniform with his signature.

Annoyed beyond measure, the soldier aims his weapon at point-blank directly between Lancar's eyes and begins charging the rifle.

_So, this is it huh? It's finally my turn to reminisce about my life?..._ Honestly, Lancar didn't have too much to think about….There was his adventures with Quark, the irreplaceable friends he's made while fighting for liberation from forceful coercions….and the most important part of his existence, his wife and daughter.

His family, who are peacefully awaiting his return on an earth colony, were always on his mind whenever he asked himself why he works so hard. He regrets not getting a chance to see them in years. How old should his daughter be by now? 12?

_Yea, that sounds about right. My gosh, what a big girl she probably is by now._ A tear crawls down from the corner of his eye. _Take good care of her, honey._

As the light from the rifle shined brighter, the world around Lancar grew darker. How ironic, he thought, that the 'light' at the end of the tunnel…..was actually trying to kill him.

…_..Don't wait up for me…..you jerk._

The blackness finally envelope's Lancar's vision completely, and he never hears the gunshot.

* * *

"W-whoa! Hold on! Stop here!" Cliff yelled as he remembered something.

"Cliff, shut up." Maria answered. "We don't have time—"

"Lancar's supposed to be running here by now."

"Wh-what? Lancar?"

"Look, you two go on ahead. I'm going to wait for him here." Cliff replied as he skidded to a halt.

"Cliff! You need to be more realistic here!" Maria yelled. "The Diplo is rigged to blow! And you're just going to wait inside of this bomb!"

"Shut your trap and get movin!" Cliff retorted. "Don't worry about me."

Maria throws down her arms in frustration. "Cliff!"

Cliff never turned his head to look at her. He continued to stare down the hallway for any hint of Lancar.

Now she was more inclined on bringing Cliff because of her stubbornness. At first, it was for his own good, but now Cliff's tenacity was really starting to piss her off.

"Dammit, Cliff! You're coming with us even if I have to drag —"

Maria stopped when a hand grasped and tugged her arm back slightly. She quickly spins her head around to glare angrily at Fayt. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She retorted. "This idiot is waiting for someone who might not even show up!"

"Maria." Fayt replied serenely. "You need to calm down. If this is what Cliff feels is the right thing to do….." Fayt looks up and Cliff, only to see the back of his head…but Fayt knew how determined Cliff really was about making sure that Lancar was okay. "…..Then you should let him."

"What? Now **you're** siding with his suicide! Fayt, why—"

"Maria," Fayt interrupted. "If you could've, would you have made your mother board an escape pod?"

Maria's heart felt cold. As guilt quickly consumes her insides, memories of the shuttle doors separating her from her mother begin to haunt her thoughts.

Fayt begins to regret what's been said after watching Maria suddenly freeze up, and looking utterly shocked. "I….I'm sorry…"

"No….no you're right." Maria answers after returning to reality. "Let's…..Let's just go."

After a few moments, Fayt nods in agreement. He didn't want to leave Cliff either, but this was Cliff's choice. There's not much to be said that can change his mind.

Maria doesn't look back as she continues running down the hall with Fayt not far behind. _That idiot better catch up with us soon._

"Hey! Fayt! Maria!" Cliff calls out to them again. His back was still facing them.

The two quickly stopped and turn to listen to him once more.

Cliff finally turns to look at them, and smiles. "Take good care of Mirage for me…"

Maria and Fayt exchanged confused glances…but their expressions rapidly switched to grief.

Maria darts towards him. "No! Cliff!"

Not wasting anytime, Cliff punches a console beside him and smashes it to bits. Mechanized doors slam shut behind him and echo throughout the halls.

"CLIFF!"

**

* * *

I noticed that I jump around from scene to scene a lot. Sorry if it may lose you sometimes. And I'm deeply sorry for taking so long. I enjoyed my summer a bit more than I thought I would. I'll be sure to make up for lost time…..to the best of my abilities.**

**To be honest, this chapter isn't completely done and it didn't end the way I wanted it to…..but I felt as though I had to get this one out ASAP for those who have been so VERY patient with me. Thank you in advance.**

**Just for funzies: I stole the term, "bluenettes" from one of the reviews. Hope you don't mind.**


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